Using Our Collections

Most of our digital collections including images, manuscripts, maps, oral histories, and other materials are delivered using the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF). IIIF provides stable, high-resolution access to our items and supports viewing, annotating, citing, and remixing materials across compatible tools and platforms.

This page explains how you can use, cite, and build on Texas A&M University Libraries’ digital assets.

Citing Our Materials

When using items from our collections, please include the following elements in your citation when available:

  • Creator / Author
  • Title
  • Date
  • Collection Name
  • Owning Repository (Texas A&M University Libraries)
  • Persistent URL (e.g., ARK, Handle, DOI)
  • IIIF Manifest URL (optional, for scholarly or technical use)

Example citation:

Soderquist, Ellen. “Interview with Ellen Soderquist.” 2025. Cushing Memorial Library & Archives,Texas A&M University Libraries. https://avalon.library.tamu.edu/media_objects/000000132

Reusing and Remixing IIIF Resources

Our IIIF services allow you to work with collection materials in flexible, innovative ways.

Deep Zoom & Annotation

Use any IIIF-compatible viewer (such as Mirador, Universal Viewer, or Clover) to zoom, crop, annotate, and compare items at high resolution.

Remix & Embed

You may embed IIIF images or manifests in your own projects, exhibits, or digital scholarship tools using our IIIF Image API or Presentation API.

The Presentation API manifest URL is dependent on the platform serving the content. For A/V collections, the manifest URL can be found by clicking the Share button. For other materials, the manifest URL is often found in the viewer itself. For a complete list of all of our items available with IIIF, see our aggregated collections list or browse them with the Theseus viewer.

Respect Rights Statements

Each item includes a rights statement and/or creative commons license (e.g., CC license, RightsStatements.org term, or copyright notice).

Please follow these permissions when reusing or modifying collection materials.

Finding IIIF URLs

For each item, you can locate:

These links can be used in IIIF viewers, digital humanities tools, or custom applications.

Tools You Can Use

  • Mirador – Compare, annotate, and remix multiple IIIF items
  • Universal Viewer – Another popular viewer for embedding objects in websites or presentations
  • RAMP – An interactive, IIIF powered A/V player
  • Clover – A popular IIIF viewer that can be used as a web component for static sites
  • Liiive – Real-time collaborative viewing & annotation for IIIF image collections
  • Canopy – An open-source static site generator designed for fast creation, contextualization, and customization of a discovery-focused digital scholarship and collections website using IIIF APIs
  • Collection Builder – an open source framework for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that are driven by metadata and powered by modern static web technology

Attribution & Acknowledgment

When publishing work created with our materials, please acknowledge: “Digital materials provided by Texas A&M University Libraries.”

Need Help?

For questions about citing, reusing, or working with IIIF materials, contact us at digitalcollections@tamu.libanswers.com.