The U-M team chose to make the images available on the World Wide Web. Non-University users are not able to connect to the Web site. The U-M MESL interface allows users to both browse and search the database. Searches can be done by artist, style, period, object type, creation technique, and material or medium. Users can also look in specific collections of each of the participating museums.
Users can also perform high level searches.
Clicking one of the thumbnails results in a list of viewing sizes. A link to the conditions of use for MESL images is prominently displayed on the U-M MESL home page. The images may be used for educational purposes only and may not be redistributed without permission of the copyright holders. The opportunity to draw on examples of artifacts for history of art, religion, anthropology, and history classes is capturing the interest of faculty across the University. Web deployment of the images allows faculty to incorporate the use of images into assignments because most students have easy access to the database.