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International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) is a set of tools and standards that make digital images interoperable, providing a standardized method of describing and delivering images online. IIIF allows the delivery of both image and structural and presentational metadata, structured as Linked Open Data (LOD) generally using JSON-LD.

IIIF comprises two main Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): an Image API and a Presentation API. Image formats are delivered in a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) string that specify the format of the final image, ensuring consistency across platforms. The Presentation API gives contextual information, in JSON-LD, and comprises metadata such as a title label, the sequence of the image in its original context, and other such information. These APIs are realized in IIIF-compatible software, such as Universal Viewer.

Examples​

  • IIIF (2017) “What is IIIF?”: The following presentation and image information demonstrates IIIF compatibility.

Presentation Information​

{
  "@context": "http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json",
  "id": "https://iiif.io/api/cookbook/recipe/0001-mvm-image/manifest.json",
  "type": "Manifest",
  "label": {
    "en": [
      "Single Image Example"
    ]
  },
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "https://iiif.io/api/cookbook/recipe/0001-mvm-image/canvas/p1",
      "type": "Canvas",
      "height": 1800,
      "width": 1200,
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "https://iiif.io/api/cookbook/recipe/0001-mvm-image/page/p1/1",
          "type": "AnnotationPage",
          "items": [
            {
              "id": "https://iiif.io/api/cookbook/recipe/0001-mvm-image/annotation/p0001-image",
              "type": "Annotation",
              "motivation": "painting",
              "body": {
                "id": "http://iiif.io/api/presentation/2.1/example/fixtures/resources/page1-full.png",
                "type": "Image",
                "format": "image/png",
                "height": 1800,
                "width": 1200
              },
              "target": "https://iiif.io/api/cookbook/recipe/0001-mvm-image/canvas/p1"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Image Information​

Image information from IIF's Image API, demonstrating the cropping and rotating of an example picture

Further Resources​