IIIF Open/Web Annotation Extensions

Status of this Document

This document is not subject to semantic versioning. Changes will be tracked within the document.

Editors

• Michael Appleby , Yale University
• Tom Crane , Digirati
• Robert Sanderson , J. Paul Getty Trust
• Jon Stroop , Princeton University Library
• Simeon Warner , Cornell University

Copyright © 2012-2024 Editors and contributors. Published by the IIIF Consortium under the CC-BY license, see disclaimer.

Abstract

This document describes extensions to the Web Annotation Data Model required within the IIIF context.

Please send feedback to iiif-discuss@googlegroups.com

1. Introduction

As with the detailed use of any general framework within another, there are some extensions necessary to make the best use of the Web Annotation model within the IIIF APIs. This document covers those extension points. It was previously applied to the predecessor of the Web Annotation model, called Open Annotation. The extensions defined can be used with either framework.

2. Selectors

Selectors in Annotations are used to describe how to retrieve a given part of a resource. They are then associated with an instance of SpecificResource that also references the resource of which the Specific Resource is part.

2.1. IIIF Image API Selector

The Image API Selector is used to describe the operations available via the Image API in order to retrieve a particular image representation. In this case the resource is the abstract image as identified by the IIIF Image API base URI plus identifier, and the retrieval process involves adding the correct parameters after that base URI. For example, the top left hand quadrant of an image has the region parameter of pct:0,0,50,50 which must be put into the requested URI to obtain the appropriate representation.

In order to make this as easy as possible for the situations when a IIIF Image API endpoint exists, we introduce a new Selector class called ImageApiSelector. It has properties that give the parameter values needed to fill out the URL structure in the request. If the property is not given, then a default should be used.

One use of this is within the IIIF Presentation API, when a Canvas is being painted by part of an image, or an image that requires rotation before display.

For example, to rotate the top left hand 10% of the image clockwise by 90 degrees would use this configuration of the Selector:

{
  "type" : "ImageApiSelector",
  "region" : "pct:0,0,10,10",
  "rotation" : "90"
}

And would result in this SpecificResource, when applied to an image service at https://example.org/iiif/image1:

{
  "type": "SpecificResource",
  "source": "https://example.org/iiif/image1",
  "selector": {
    "type": "ImageApiSelector",
    "region": "pct:0,0,10,10",
    "rotation": "90"
  }
}

It can be used in the Presentation API as demonstrated in the section on Rotation.

2.2. Point Selector

There are common use cases in which a point, rather than a range or area, is the target of the Annotation. For example, putting a pin in a map should result in an exact point, not a very small rectangle. Points in time are not very short durations, and user interfaces should also treat these differently. This is particularly important when zooming in (either spatially or temporally) beyond the scale of the frame of reference. Even if the point takes up a 10 by 10 pixel square at the user’s current resolution, it is not a rectangle bounding an area.

It is not possible to select a point using URI Fragments with the Media Fragment specification, as zero-sized fragments are not allowed. In order to fulfill the use cases, this specification defines a new Selector class called PointSelector.

For example, to select a point in a video that is 10 pixels in from the top left hand corner of the visual content, and 14.5 seconds into the duration:

{
  "type": "PointSelector",
  "x": 10,
  "y": 10,
  "t": 14.5
}

2.3. Content Selectors

Video content resources consist of both visual and audio content within the same bit-level representation. There are situations when it is useful to refer to only one aspect of the content – either the visual or the audio, but not both. For example, an Annotation might associate only the visual content of a video that has spoken English in the audio, and an audio file that has the translation of that content in Spanish.

This specification defines two Selectors, AudioContentSelector that selects the audio content and a second VisualContentSelector for the visual content. Neither selector has any additional properties.

{ "type": "AudioContentSelector" }

{ "type": "VisualContentSelector" }

Appendices

A. Acknowledgements

The production of this document was generously supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Thanks to the members of the IIIF for their continuous engagement, innovative ideas and feedback.

B. Change Log