IIIF Resources
Viewers, collections, tools and documentation
Getting Started with IIIF
- How IIIF Works (official intro): iiif.io/get-started/how-iiif-works/
- IIIF Cookbook (practical recipes with examples): iiif.io/api/cookbook/
- IIIF Awesome list: github.com/IIIF/awesome-iiif
- Biblissima IIIF documentation — one of the best practical introductions to IIIF, with annotated examples and use cases from French cultural heritage institutions: iiif.biblissima.fr
API Specifications
- Image API 3.0: iiif.io/api/image/3.0/
- Presentation API 3.0: iiif.io/api/presentation/3.0/
- Search API: iiif.io/api/search/
- Authorization Flow API: iiif.io/api/auth/
IIIF-Enabled Collections
| Institution | URL |
|---|---|
| Europeana | europeana.eu |
| Gallica (BnF) | gallica.bnf.fr |
| Nakala (Huma-Num) | nakala.fr |
| Wellcome Collection | wellcomecollection.org |
| British Library | bl.uk |
| Harvard Art Museums | harvardartmuseums.org |
| Bodleian Libraries | digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk |
IIIF Viewers
- Universal Viewer: universalviewer.io — feature-rich, widely used
- Mirador: projectmirador.org — multi-window, annotation-ready
- Clover IIIF: samvera-labs.github.io/clover-iiif — modern React viewer
- IIIF.io Viewer: iiif.io/demos/ — list of all viewers
Manifest Creation Tools
- Manifest Editor (online): manifest-editor.iiif.io
- Digirati Manifest Editor: github.com/digirati-co-uk/iiif-manifest-editor
- Tropy IIIF Export Plugin: generates manifests from Tropy projects
Gallica IIIF Manifest URLs
Gallica (BnF) exposes IIIF manifests for all its digitised documents. The pattern is:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/{identifier}/manifest.jsonExamples:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/bd6t538312611/manifest.json
https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b8451475v/manifest.json
https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b8452439r/manifest.jsonThe ARK identifier is visible in the Gallica URL when browsing a document. Replace gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/XXXXX with gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/XXXXX/manifest.json to get the IIIF manifest.
This manifest URL can be pasted directly into Tropy (IIIF plugin) or Arvest (Import → IIIF Manifest URL) to import the entire document with its metadata.
🔗 Full Gallica IIIF API documentation: api.bnf.fr/fr/api-iiif-de-recuperation-des-images-de-gallica
Other IIIF Annotation Tools
Arvest is not the only tool for annotating IIIF resources. Depending on your use case, these alternatives may be relevant:
Tesselle
A lightweight annotation tool developed by the médialab at Sciences Po Paris, designed for annotating images with spatial references — particularly useful in art history and visual studies.
- Produces IIIF-compatible annotated manifests
- Web-based, no installation required
- 🔗 medialab.github.io/tesselle
See also: Publier une image avec ses annotations — utilisation de Tesselle en histoire de l’art — Antoine Courtin, Numérique et recherche en histoire de l’art (2020)
Adno
A IIIF-native annotation and storytelling tool — open source, web-based. Particularly suited for creating guided visual narratives from annotated corpora: guided tours of an image, sequential annotations with text and multimedia.
- Works with any IIIF manifest URL as input
- Produces exportable annotated manifests
- 🔗 adno.app · Examples · Quickstart
Arvest vs Tesselle vs Adno
| Tool | Strengths | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Arvest | Collaboration, API, ML export | Team projects, large corpora |
| Tesselle | Spatial annotation, simplicity | Art history, single images |
| Adno | Storytelling, guided tours | Teaching, public-facing narratives |