On 14 March, The Australian Wine Research Institute launched its online image collection. The collection is a searchable database of downloadable industry images, available from the AWRI website, in a variety of formats.
Access to these industry images has been made possible through the collaboration with professionals working within the industry. The project is funded by Australias grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, with matching funding from the Australian government. Users of this facility will contribute to the ongoing costs to maintain and expand the collection.
AWRIs Group Manager Communication and Information Services, Rae Blair, said The collection of images, some of which are nearly 60 years old, range from wine microorganisms to grape harvesting technology, and will be a useful resource for students, academics, researchers and industry members.
Rae Blair acknowledged the valuable contribution of slides and photographs by Dr Peter May (formerly CSIRO), Dr Bryce Rankine (formerly AWRI) and Dr Bryan Coombe (formerly University of Adelaide), These three gentlemen were committed to this project from the start, she said They were determined that these images not be lost to industry members and researchers. They contributed enormous hours to catalogue the images that they had gathered over the years during their careers.
The images supplied by these esteemed researchers are supplemented with the AWRIs own images collected since 1955. Ongoing contributions from CSIRO, as well as other organisations and individuals, will continue to expand the collection, maintaining value for users into the future.
A collection of more than 3,000 images is currently accessible via the AWRI website: http://www.awri.com.au
Application to become a Registered User can be made via the AWRI website. Registered Users can search and download from the database, and will find image files suitable for all graphics purposes.
For more information on the range of information services available from The Australian Wine Research Institute visit the website: http://www.awri.com.au, or contact AWRI staff at email: library@awri.com.au
(You can download a copy of this media release here)