Home > Guide for Muggles

Guide for Muggles

How to navigate this digital library:

Locations within the Beyond Hogwarts: Harry Potter in the Real World digital library are broken into three categories: Filming Locations, Harry Potter Inspired Locations, and J.K. Rowling Writing Locations. Users may explore these different collections by choosing from the menu on the left side of the site.

Users may also explore locations by clicking on the blue location indicators on any of the maps on the site. 

A search box is provided at the bottom of the side menu. The search box allows users to search for locations by keyword. If more exact searching is required, or if the user wishes to search using a word that is 4 letters or less, they must choose an "exact match" search by clicking on the three dots next to the magnifying glass.

Examples of tags within the digital library include: Harry Potter, Restaurant, Bar, Coffee Shop, Magic, Magical, Wizard, Travel, Harry Potter Travel, Witch, Bed and Breakfast, Potion, Edinburgh, J.K. Rowling, Hogwarts, Flourish & Blotts, Diagon Alley, Black Lake, Great Lake, Hogwarts, Triwizard Tournament, Highlands, Scotland, Privet Drive, Props, Costumes, Great Hall, London, Tour, Deatheaters, Magic, Flying, Apparate 

The Browse Items tab in the menu also provides several different options for browsing locations by tag and map, and also viewing a list of all items.

Frequently Asked Questions:

General Questions

  • What is the Beyond Hogwarts: Harry Potter in the Real World digital library?
    • The Beyond Hogwarts: Harry Potter in the Real World digital library is a digital image collection of Harry Potter filming locations and inspired locations. 
  • When was this digital library established?
    • The Beyond Hogwarts: Harry Potter in the Real World digital library was established in April 2020.
  • Who manages this digital library?
    • The Beyond Hogwarts: Harry Potter in the Real World digital library is managed by Denise Gomez, Kristin Hagaman, Allyson Lanier, Andrea Stich.
  • What is the difference between an inspired location and a filming location?
    • Filming locations are locations where scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed.
    • Inspired locations are restaurants, bars, hotels, etc., that are designed based off of the Harry Potter films and books.
  • I've never watched or read Harry Potter, would you still recommend this digital library for me?
    • Yes! We encourage all users to explore and navigate the collection, regardless of Harry Potter knowledge. There is plenty of descriptive information to help familiarize yourself with the items.
  • I've already read and watched all of Harry Potter, would you still recommend this digital library for me?
    • Yes! There are various Harry Potter inspired restaurants, bars, hotels, etc. that you can familiarize yourself with, and there is also plenty of information you may not know about the films/books!

Digital Images

  • Can I download these images for personal use?
    • Under Rights in each item, you can see the specific copyright for each image in the collection.
  • What ppi are the images?
    • The ppi for these working files is 400.
  • Where did these images come from?
    • These images are personal images, public domain images, and images provided from businesses' websites and social media with permission.
  • What do the filenames specify? For example: fw_uk_al008.jpg
    • 1 character to identify if the item is a Harry Potter filming location (f) or an inspired location (i)
    • 1 character to differentiate between working (w), master (m), and thumbnail (t) file
    • 2 characters to identify the country code
    • 2 characters to identify the user contributor
    • 3 digit number with leading zeros identifying item count for that contributor
    • File format (.jpg)

Harry Potter Terms:

  • Muggles
    • In the Harry Potter series, a Muggle is a person who lacks any sort of magical ability and was not born in a magical family.
  • Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
    • School that teaches students with magical abilities in the United Kingdom
  • Hogsmeade
    • Village adjacent to Hogwarts, where students could visit in Year 3 with signed permission.
  • Hogsmeade Station
    • Students would arrive on the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station each year.
  • Gryffindor
    • One of four student houses within Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sorted into Gryffindor.

  • Gringotts
    • A magical bank run by goblins. Houses a dragon (for protection) and several underground bank vaults filled with gold and treasure.
  • Quidditch
    • Magical game in the Harry Potter stories with players flying on broomsticks, played with bludgers, quaffles, beater’s bats, and the golden snitch.
  • Diagon Alley
    • Street with a row of shops only available for magical families.
  • Ollivander’s Wand Shop
    • Shop for wands where the wand chooses the wizard.
  • Madam Malkin’s
    • Dress shop where Hogwarts students are fitted for and purchase school robes
  • Death Eaters
    • Members of a secret group that believe there should only be magical people, no Muggles. They work in concert with the main villain of the series, Lord Voldemort.