What Is IIIF — And Why Should You Care?
As cultural institutions digitize their collections, one of the biggest challenges is making high-resolution images usable, shareable, and meaningful online. That’s where IIIF comes in.
What is IIIF?
IIIF stands for the International Image Interoperability Framework — an open standard that allows images and metadata to be served in a consistent way, no matter where they’re hosted. It’s used by museums, libraries, archives, and universities across the world.
Put simply: IIIF is a set of web protocols that makes it easy to present, zoom, compare, annotate, and reuse images across platforms.
It’s particularly powerful for manuscripts, maps, paintings, and other digitized cultural heritage materials where detail matters. With IIIF, institutions can retain control of their content — but allow others (including researchers, educators, and developers) to explore and build on it.
Key IIIF Concepts
Here’s a quick primer on the essential building blocks:
Image API: Delivers tiled, zoomable images — like Google Maps for your manuscripts.
Presentation API: Provides structured metadata and context (e.g., page order, titles, authors).
Manifests: JSON files that combine the image tiles and metadata into a complete package that viewers can understand.
Viewers: Web tools that can read these manifests and display the image with zoom, search, navigation, etc.
Universal viewer test
Embedding IIIF in Your Website
There are many IIIF-compatible viewers available. Here we’ll highlight two of the most accessible and flexible tools: Universal Viewer and the Exhibit API.
Universal Viewer: A Flexible, Open-Source IIIF Viewer
Universal Viewer (UV) is a robust, open-source web viewer that supports the IIIF standard out of the box. It works with IIIF manifests and allows users to:
Zoom in and out on high-resolution images
Navigate multi-page items (like books or manuscripts)
View metadata
Switch between languages
Share or embed items in other sites
Why use Universal Viewer?
It’s easy to embed into your site (iframe or JS)
It supports multiple IIIF standards (Image, Presentation, Content Search, and more)
It’s used by major institutions like the British Library and Europeana
It can be customized to match your branding
➡️ On this page, you’ll find embedded examples showing how Universal Viewer displays historical documents and maps with zooming, navigation, and multilingual support.
- Using Share Icon we can embed image into any page
- No need for extra plugins
- URL determines the zoom level of the image
Exhibit APP (story telling)
Exhibit API: For Building Rich Storytelling Experiences
The Exhibit API is a newer layer in the IIIF ecosystem. While the core IIIF specs are focused on structure and delivery, Exhibit API is about curation — making it easier to create narratives, tours, or guided experiences using IIIF resources.
With the Exhibit API, you can:
Combine multiple IIIF items into a single narrative
Add text panels, audio, and video
Define sections, chapters, or themes
Build virtual exhibitions without writing complex code
It’s an ideal solution if you want to go beyond the viewer and build an experience — especially for education, exhibitions, or storytelling-based platforms like Flandrica 2.0.
➡️ Scroll down to see examples of IIIF-powered exhibits using the Exhibit API — including thematic timelines, manuscript explorations, and virtual galleries.
- create slide show
- create quiz
- kiosk
- scroll
project link : https://www.exhibit.so/exhibits/edit/VtnCttzlQypkMXW95erF
Why IIIF Matters for Digital Heritage
IIIF isn’t just a technical standard. It’s a shared language that empowers collaboration, discovery, and preservation. For libraries and archives, it means:
Interoperability: IIIF content can be reused and remixed across institutions
Longevity: Content remains accessible and portable even if platforms change
Engagement: Researchers, teachers, and the public can explore collections in meaningful ways
Efficiency: Use existing tools rather than building everything from scratch
By adopting IIIF — and integrating tools like Universal Viewer and the Exhibit API — heritage websites can offer a much richer, more interactive experience, while staying open and future-proof.
Ready to explore?
Try out the embedded examples below, and imagine what IIIF could unlock for your own digital collections.