Online Resource of the Month

September - October 2006

Each month, the Library features one of its online premium resources, paid for by the San Diego Public Library, and available at the locations indicated.

AP Photo Archive
Available at all San Diego Public Library locations and online from any location with a valid library card.

What is AP Photo Archive?
The Archive is a primary source database from the Associated Press that contains photographs, audio sound bites, graphics and text spanning over 160 years of history. User comprehension and recall skills will improve with visually stimulating imagery meant for use in research papers, theses, reports and PowerPoint presentations.

AP Photo Archive includes over 2 million photographs dating back to 1826, more than 1 million audio sound bytes dating from the 1920s, 2 million Associated Press news stories from 1997, and a professionally produced collection of more than 45,000 maps, graphs, charts, logos, flags, and illustrations. Updated with more than three thousand photos daily, the Archive is licensed for educational and library use exclusively through AccuWeather Inc.

How is the AP Photo Archive arranged?
The Archive is composed of four separate databases: the photos databases, a graphics database, a text database, and an audio database.

• International Photos - Default selection upon opening, this database contains the entire Photo Archive database of over one million photos with full captioned text. You can search on multiple criteria including time, people, concept, color, photo type and category.
• Graphics - This database includes charts, tables, maps, graphs, logos, timelines, Spanish graphics, and "how-to" tips.
• Audio - A retrospective collection with over 4,500 hours of audio clips from the 1920s to 48 hours ago.
• Text - Associated Press (AP) news stories and headlines.

What does the AP Photo Archive interface look like?
In the above screenshot of the opening screen of AP Photo Archive, you will see the left-hand menu for selecting the type of search you wish to make. The what, when, and where search boxes are at the top of the screen. In the middle area, current photo headlines are displayed and may be selected for viewing, downloading, or e-mailing. Previous headline photos are available from the date menu on the right side of the page.

What are some examples and search tips for finding photos or other content in AP Photo Archive?
In addition to the news headlines from the past 72 hours available on the main site page, below you will find a few examples of photo searches utilizing the what, when and where search fields. These helpful tips are based on the types of content in the database.

• Associated Press News Photos
  • International Photos - news photos from the year 2000 to less than a minute ago.
  • Pre-2000 - news photos from 1999 to the 1820s.
    • Search tip: Select pre2000 under Archives on the left hand side of the screen. Type civil rights in the what field and 1964 in the when field. This search reports first-hand coverage of the American Civil Rights Bill being signed. Continue reviewing the results of this search and you will see coverage of the Civil Rights movement, significant leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., and visual results of changes made to society at that time.
    • Search tip: Select pre2000 under Archives on the left hand side of the screen. Type 6/6/1944 in the when field to find extraordinary photographs of the D-Day invasion.
    • Search tip: Select pre2000 under Archives on the left hand side of the screen. Type Lincoln in the what field. Type from 1847 to 1865 in the when field. See photos and sketches of the events and battles that surrounded Abraham Lincoln's life.
    • Search tip: When searching broader topics in the what field, such as whale, electric car, or moon, it may be helpful to search once using Intl Photos and again selecting pre2000 under Archives on the left hand side of the screen.

• Associated Press Graphics
  • Graphics PDF - Over 48,000 Maps, charts, graphs, logos, timelines, etc.
  • Access Graphics - Select by selecting in the circle next to Graphics PDF in the left hand column.
    • Search tip: Type the word Tsunami in the what field and select search.
    • Search tip: Clear fields, type the words timeline and Iraq in the what field.

• Associated Press Audio Clips
  • Audio - Over 1 million audio clips from the 1920s to 48 hours ago. Switch by selecting in the circle next to Audio in the left hand column.
    • Search tip: Type Martin Luther King and Dream in the what field and click search to hear excerpt from famous speech.
    • Type Mir Space Station in the what field.

• Associated Press News Articles
  • Text - Over 2.8 million AP news briefs from 1997 to 48 hours ago. Switch by selecting in the circle next to Text in the left hand column.
    • Type Enron and Ken Lay in the what field.
    • Type Iraq and elections in the what field.

When Should I Use AP Photo Archive?
AP Photo Archive is great for researching news, events, and history. You can use the contents under educational use permissions in your school papers and reports. You can download the photos and materials, or e-mail them.

Complete User Guides
This brief article provides a broad, general introduction to the AP Photo Archive database. For more complete details, please consult the User Guides. Selecting the Help link in the database provides direct access to the online User Guide.

There are two versions of the User Guide available. Please select below the guide you wish to use.

• User Guide - Online Version
• User Guide - PDF Version -Get the Adobe Acrobat Reader (free), if you need it to view the PDF (portable document format) User Guide.

Explore questions

Find wedding photos from Princess Diana's wedding to Prince Charles. (Photos)

Find and listen to the clip of Martin Luther King's "Dream" speech. (Audio)