Alt-text for images of collection material

Appropriate alt-text for images of Folger collection material depends on the image's context. The goal is to provide verbal description of basic visual aspects that are not already covered by the image caption and surrounding text.

"Collection Highlights" on the Folger website

Provide a verbal description of basic visual aspects of the image that wouldn't otherwise be apparent to website visitors. Keep in mind that "Collection Highlights" is aimed at a general audience. Visitors can find specialist information about the collection item by following the link to the catalog record.

Guidelines

  • Read the surrounding text and caption to know what can be taken as given (and omit this from the alt text)
  • Begin with the most striking visual aspect
  • Omit "Image of..." (because that's already supplied by the encoding)
  • Include the medium (when it's not already given by the caption) unless the image is of the thing itself.
    For example:
  1. Lute lying on its back against a white background
  2. Detail of engraving showing lute played by pale feminine hands
  3. Detail of black-and-white photo showing lute played by pale masculine hands
  • Example 1

    Example 1

  • Example 2

    Example 2

  • Example 3

    Example 3

  • Describe only what the image shows, not additional information you happen to know about the collection item
  • Transcribe as much of the text as a typical viewer glancing at the image would take in, e.g. heading, first line, printer's ornament (full transcriptions are out-of-scope for 'highlights' and can instead be provided through links)


Collection-highlight-Leicester-letter.jpg

Another example: "Full page of handwritten text" or, more elaborately, "Full page of text handwritten in black ink on beige paper with large left-hand margin and seven horizontal creases" would be appropriate alt-text for the website's image of the Earl of Leicester's letter to Elizabeth I from 3 August 1558. Without even seeing the image, visitors to the website know from the surrounding text that it's a letter, who it's from, who it's to, when it was written, and the gist of what it contains. Alt-text provides the missing piece: what's literally visible in the image.