Librarian
Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) licenses are intended to let copyright holders identify preemptively what types of uses are appropriate for their works. When looking for materials to incorporate into a class project, it can be really helpful to specifically seek out works with CC licenses, because then there is no question about what permissions are granted for the work.
- Creative Commons SearchLinks to sites with materials available with Creative Commons licenses. Always verify that any work you find is actually under a CC license by following the link.
- Creative Commons LicensesFind out more about the six different CC licenses and what they mean for your use of the work. Since you will be using the work for educational purposes, you may use works that specify "non-commercial" uses only.
Image Collections
- Flickr: Advanced SearchUsing the drop down menu on the upper left of the flickr advanced search page, you click on "any license" to choose a license you want to search under. "All Creative Commons" and "U.S. Government Works" are both good choices.
- Flickr: The CommonsThe Commons is a collection of publicly-held photography collections. Under "The Commons," cultural institutions that have reasonably concluded that a photograph is free of copyright restrictions are invited to share such photograph under their new usage guideline called "no known copyright restrictions."
- Wikimedia CommonsOver 16 million freely usable media files. Like Wikipedia, anyone can contribute to the collection. Copyright and licensing information is provided for every image.
- Brooklyn Museum: Browse CollectionsImages from the Brooklyn Museum. You may use and share images from our website for noncommercial purposes with attribution to the Brooklyn Museum.
- Library of Congress Digital Collections searchLinks to the digital collections of the Library of Congress. Check each collection for information on use and attribution of images.
- Smithsonian Institution Collections Search CenterOver 800,000 images, video and other items from the Smithsonian collection. Non-commercial use of the content is allowed as long as you cite the author and source, and link to the SI Website.
- Public Health Image Library (PHIL)From the CDC Department of Health and Human Services. You can search for photos, illustrations, and videos. Content is marked as either "Public Domain" (you're free to use it) or "Copyright Protected" (you'll need to get permission from the copyright owner before using). Most of the content is public domain.
- National Archives - Digital Photography CollectionsHistoric photographs from the National Archives.
- Google Advanced Image SearchNotice that you can filter by "usage rights" to find images that are licensed for reuse.
