Public Domain, Copyright Free, Open Source, and Student Use Images and Media
This page provides links to some of the better copyright-free and public domain resources. The advice on this page is not a legal opinion. The ideas are intended for educators and librarians who wish to locate quality, copyright-friendly materials for educational, noncommercial, and nonprofit projects.
NOTE: Not all of these resources are copyright free, but most allow student to use and cite the projects in their assignments.
Large Image Resources and Indexes
Copryight-Free Photo Archives
- 27,000 images from NASA, NOAA, and FWS
http://gimp-savvy.com/PHOTO-ARCHIVE/
DHD Multimedia Gallery (Selection of
images, sounds, etc.)
http://gallery.hd.org/index.jsp
Free Foto
http://www.freefoto.com/
Free Images - 2500 stock photos (most free,
some members only)
http://www.freeimages.co.uk/
Free Stock Photos
http://freestockphotos.com/
Imagesafter (Hi-res images, photos, &
textures)
http://www.imageafter.com/
MorgueFile (Some are free for students to use in projects, but not copyright-free)
http://www.morguefile.com/
Pics4Learning - great for general topics
http://pics4learning.com/
Smithsonian Institution's Office of Imaging and Photographic Services
http://photo2.si.edu/
Photo Resources
ARS (Agricultural Research Service)
Image Gallery
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/
Art Images for College Teaching (AICT) by A. T. Kohl
http://arthist.cla.umn.edu/aict/index.html
Coin Page
http://www.coinpage.com/
Free Public Domain Images - small collection
http://www.pdimages.com/web6.htm
Great Images in NASA
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/
JSC Digital Image Collection (NASA)
- seach or browse 9000 NASA images
http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/
NASA Multimedia Gallery (Images, video,
and interactive features)
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/highlights/index.html
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Photo Gallery
http://photogallery.nrcs.usda.gov/
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Photo Library - search 20,000 NOAA images
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/
Planetary Photojournal from NASA
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/
Public Health Image Library (PHIL) from
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://phil.cdc.gov/Phil/default.asp
US Fish and Wildlife Service: Pictures/Graphics
http://pictures.fws.gov/
Clip Art Resources
Animation Factory (3D animations
and clipart)
http://www.animfactory.com/
Awesome Clipart for Kids, Teacher & Family
http://www.awesomeclipartforkids.com/
Clip Art Connection
http://www.clipartconnection.com/
Clip Art Gallery from DiscoverySchool
http://school.discovery.com/clipart/
Graphic Maps
http://www.graphicmaps.com/clipart.htm
Page Resource (backgrounds, dividers,
images, and links)
http://www.pageresource.com/graphics/index.html
Images on Specific Topics
Abraham Lincoln - 5 pictures
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/resource/freepix.htm
Images from the History of Medicine
(IHM) from National Library of Medicine
http://wwwihm.nlm.nih.gov/
Images of American Political History
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/
Map Collections: 1500-2003 from American
Memory, Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
Moving Image Archive from Internet
Archive
http://www.archive.org/movies/movies.php
Text Resources
Project Gutenberg (electronic
texts)
http://gutenberg.net/
Stories and Characters That Have Had Their
Copyright Expire
http://www.pdimages.com/stories.htm
Music
Links to Search for PD Music and Lyrics
http://www.pdinfo.com/link.htm
Few Other Sources With Varying Restrictions
The following sites contain some photographsand/or that may also require payment or permission for use. Read the copyright sections at each site to determine exact restrictions.
American Memory from the Library
of Congress
http://rs6.loc.gov/amhome.html
Free Photographs
http://www.free-photographs.net/
iStockphoto (Read the Introduction
section to learn more about their download credit system)
http://www.istockphoto.com/
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp
NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
http://nix.nasa.gov/
NetVet (Links-site to collections with
varying restrictions of use)
http://netvet.wustl.edu/pix.htm
New York Public Library Picture Collection
Online
http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/
Collection of 30,000 digitized images from books, magazines and newspapers
as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created
before 1923.
Issues
You should go directly to the original source and obtain
your own copy of the public domain image rather than copying a copy. You
do not have the right to modify the work of the copyright owner without
permission.
Fair Use
Under the Fair Use are of the law, copyrighted material can be used for teaching, research, or scholarship. It may also be used for editorials, criticism, or commentaries. Materials may also be used as part of news reporting. However, you must consider the portion of the copyrighted work you use.
Special Care
Some companies such as Disney are particularly concerned about their trademarks and logos. Be aware of these companies.
Images and the Law
http://www.pdimages.com/web9.htm