Images and Copyright (DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNN)

Admittedly, I'm pretty awful at creating posters for library events. I love creating them; I simply do not have an eye for layout/design and graphics, and am REALLY envious of those who can make them in a pinch (my coworker B in particular is a magical design wizard). Discovering new tools and resources certainly helps alleviate some of that pressure to create.

I believe in the importance of attributing works to their author/artist, but when you just need a bit of filler in a library poster, sometimes Clip Art isn't enough. Creative Commons is my usual go-to site, but I'm grateful that this project led me to morgueFile ; strange name, but it has some great high-quality photos, if you know what you're searching for. In terms of copyright, some things still are a little confusing to me: are we allowed to use images of book covers on our posters? If we use a small, simple graphic on a poster, does that need to be credited?

Here's a beautiful wild cat that I stumbled across last week; the Manul (or Pallas's Cat) is a small wild cat that lives in the grassland and montane steppe of Central Asia and whose conservation status is sadly classified as "Near threatened".


Source (via Wikimedia Commons): http://flickr.com/photos/25222486@N06/2561402671

We were asked to create a Wordle , or what I refer to as a word cloud; these fragments can be visually enticing in a professional presentation (especially if it's a Powerpoint presentation, ugh). Just be careful not to go overboard with lingo (the term "synergy" especially irks me). I'm not sure how word clouds could be used in terms of promoting library programming and resources. Any ideas?

Because I'm in a wintry mood, I chose Émile Nelligan's celebrated poem "Ah comme la neige a neigé" as my base: what do you think?




Overall, I aspire to become even just a bit better at creating visuals, which I believe is increasingly important in public libraries. What catches the eye stays in the mind!