This guide suggests resources for obtaining and using Digital Images.

Search Engines | Image Collections

Web Directories  | Databases | Use of Images | Other Guides

 

Use Search Engines to find an image by keyword.

 

Ask	www.ask.com/images
Dogpile	www.dogpile.com
Flickr	www.flickr.com
FreeFoto	www.freefoto.com
Google Images	www.google.com/images
Picsearch	www.picsearch.com
Yahoo! Images	http://images.search.yahoo.com

 

Search Large Image Collections

 

American Memory - Maintained by Library of Congress, this website documents the American experience. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/

Creative Commons - A non-profit organization devoted to storing creative works for others to legally use and expand upon. http://creativecommons.org/image/

Free Large Photos - A collection of mostly outdoor photos available to use if credit is given to the website. http://freelargephotos.com/

Great Images in NASA (GRIN) - A collection of over a thousand images of significant historical interest. http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/

HubbleSite Gallery - Images taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. http://hubblesite.org/gallery

Kent Library Special Collections and Archives - Search images from the Missouri Regional History Collection, University Archives and more. http://library.semo.edu/archives/collections/index.htm

Library of Congress Flickr - Thousands of photos from the Library of Congress collections have been scanned in and posted on flickr.com. http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

LIFE Magazine Google Image Collection - Millions of photos from the LIFE magazine archive are available to be searched on Google Images. http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Missouri Digital Heritage - A digital image collection containing historical photos of happenings in the state of Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/

MorgueFile - Free high resolution digital stock photography for either corporate or public use. www.morguefile.com

NASA Image Exchange (NIX) - Image search engine for NASA related media. http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/

NYPL Digital Gallery - This site provides access to over 600,000 images in the collections of The New York Public Library. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/

Prints & Photographs Reading Room -More than half of the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Reading Room's collection can be found here. www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html

Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection - University of Texas at Austin maintains an online library of maps from all over the world. www.lib.utexas.edu/maps

Smithsonian Images - Images from many different Smithsonian institutions are accessible through flickr galleries on this site. http://photography.si.edu

Time & Life Pictures - Content from photojournalists documenting past and present political and cultural events, as well as celebrities and the American experience. www.timelifepictures.com

Visible Earth - Images of the earth from space. http://visibleearth.nasa.gov

 

Use Web Directories to find Image Collections on a certain subject.

 

BUBL Link: Image collections - Over 150 collections http://bubl.ac.uk/link/types/images.htm

Digital Librarian: Images www.digital-librarian.com/images.html

U.S. Government Graphics and Photos - Collections from many major governmental offices. www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Graphics.shtml

Clip Art from Yahoo Directory http://dir.yahoo.com/computers_and_internet/ graphics/clip_art

Databases  

 

Use the Library's subscription databases to get images.

 

ARTstor	Digital image database.
Credo Reference Collection	Reference megasearch that can be limited to entries with images
Encyclopedia Britannica	Perform search first, Media or Images will appear on the side bar.
Newsbank	Search Newsbank Maps on the bottom left column, for maps.
Proquest Research Library & Newspapers	Select More Search Options on the bottom, choose Editorial Cartoons from the Document Type drop-down menu.
Oxford Reference Online - Maps & Illustrations	Search three sources at once for flags, maps and visuals.
EBSCOHost Databases Academic Search Premier MAS Ultra School Edition MasterFILE Elite Military Library Fulltext Primary Search	Click on More at the top and then select  Images.  Each database searches the same collection of images.

 

Intellectual Property protects creative works through a patent, trademark or  copyright. To help determine if the images you found are protected under copyright and how to use them fairly, use the resources below.

 

Copyright Clearance Center Overview of Copyright Law	Definitions of Public Domain, Copyright and Fair Use.
Copyright Term and the Public Domain in United States Timeline of Copyright Dates	Use dates to determine if a work copyrighted or in the Public Domain.
Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials Four Fair Use Factors	A test to see if you're violating copyright.
U.S. Copyright Office Copyright Basics	What material can by copyrighted, how and for how long.
The Center for Internet and Society A Fair(y) Use Tale	A humorous video developed by Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University demonstrating copyright and fair use principles.
American Library Association Fair Use Elevator	Helps you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code. Provides access to educational materials, external copyright resources, and contact information for copyright help at local & national levels.

Other Image Finding Guides

 

Finding Images on the Web Boston University Library

Advice: Finding and Using Digital Images Technical Advisory Service for Images, UK's Further and Higher Education community