Finding Free Images:

Dacus Library Online Databases
and the World Wide Web

Jackie McFadden
Reference Librarian
Dacus Library
Winthrop University
July, 2008

Dacus Library Online Databases:

Images can be found in several Dacus Library Online databases.  Most of the images have copyright restrictions, but are free to use for educational purposes.  Images may not be posted on the Internet or used in any other form of mass media without written permission from the copyright holder.

EBSCOhost Research Databases

After entering your search terms, thumbnail images matching your keywords will appear within the search results list. Related images can be found on the right-hand side of the page.

Biography Resource Center

Contains images of nearly 10% of the 275,000 people found in this database.

SIRS Discoverer® Deluxe 

Click on either Photo Essays or Pictures, located on the lower right of the screen, for a listing of available graphics.

ARTstor

Search by keyword or by specific collection.

Kid's InfoBits

Search by category or use the Advanced Search to combine terms.  Click on "Images" on the Results List page.

Images on the World Wide Web

The following websites provide large selections of free stock photography or public domain images.  Many of the sites are searchable.  Most of the images have no usage restrictions, but some images have various licensing rules and regulations, so check for “terms of use” or “reproduction rights” and follow copyright regulations or crediting requests.  Some public domain websites require a free registration to view or share images.

Images labeled “Free for Educational or Personal Use” can be used for websites, school reports, videos, brochures, business cards, letterhead, and other personal projects; however, you cannot sell the images or use them commercially without prior approval. 

U.S. Government works are free of copyright.  This includes all writings, photos, or images produced by Federal employees as part of their official duty. Government websites may contain a mixture of pubic domain and copyrighted works, so check for usage restrictions before using the material.

America As It Was http://patsabin.com/VintagePostcards/

Vintage U.S. postcards, published before 1978, organized by state. Includes photos, aerial views, and maps of many U.S. locations.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library – Digital Images Online   http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/

Yale University's digital collection includes 90,000 images from rare books and manuscripts, searchable by keyword.

British Library Images Online  http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/

Thousands of images available for free low-resolution download from the British Library Collection.

Cepolina Photo  http://www.cepolina.com/freephoto/

Over 8,000 photos available for download. Images can be search by categories, including color.

Child Labor in America  http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/

(1908 - 1912) Photographs of American children, as young as three years old, working in factories, mines, and fields.

Classroom Clip Art  http://classroomclipart.com

Clip art, pictures and illustrations.

Design Packs  http://www.designpacks.com/

High quality image collections for web designers.  New sets are added monthly.

Duke University: Digital Scriptorium  http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/diap/

Items from the Rare Book Manuscript and Special Collections Library. Includes a 1911-1955 Advertising database and a historical American sheet music database.

Duke University: Ad*Access  http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/

Images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.

Easy Stock Photos  http://www.easystockphotos.com/index.html

Stock photos, pictures, digital images, graphics & information.

European Postage Stamps  http://www.europeanstamps.net/imagedb2/

Postage stamp image database searchable by topic.

Flikr Creative Commons  www.flickr.com/creativecommons

Flickr users offer an alternative to full copyright. Create a free account.

Flickr Royalty Free Photos  http://flickr.com/photos/stockphoto_free/

Free use photos.  Fee for high resolution pictures.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

All images are free.  High resolution photos are $5.00 - $10.00.

FreeFoto.com  http://freefoto.com

Photographs are free to use on the internet (link back and attribution required).  Fee charged for higher quality files.

FreePhotos.se http://www.freephotos.se/

Nice photos from personal collections.  Free to use.

From Old Books  http://www.fromoldbooks.org/

High-resolution images scanned from more than 100 different old or rare books, with extracts.

Great War in Color  http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-color.html

Extensive WWI photo collection.

Images of American Political History http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/

A collection of over 500 public domain images.

John Leech Sketch Archive   http://www.john-leech-archive.org.uk/

Sketches from Punch magazine,1841 – 1864, covering historical events   including the Great Exhibition, the Crimean War, the Chartist Movement, changing fashion and changing attitudes to class, servants and women.

Library of Congress: American Memory  http://memory.loc.gov

National Digital Library - Millions of digital images from the historical collections of the Library of Congress

New York Public Library Digital Collections   http://www.nypl.org/digital/collections_images.html

Access to over 600,000 images from primary sources and printed rarities, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.

Old Book Illustrations  http://www.oldbookillustrations.com/

Illustrations scanned from old books including wood engravings or woodcuts, etchings and copper engravings.

PD Clip Art  http://www.pdclipart.org

25,000 plus public domain clip art images.

PD Photo   http://pdphoto.org/

Public domain photo repository.

Photos of the Great War  http://www.gwpda.org/photos/greatwar.htm

Images of World War I.

Presentations ETC  http://etc.usf.edu/presentations/

Background slides and templates for presentations.

Public Domain Photos.com  http://www.public-domain-photos.com/

Thousands of high quality public domain photos.

Public Domain Pictures.net  http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/

Royalty free stock photos. All images are free for commercial and personal use.

Public Domain Stock Photos  http://www.logodesignweb.com/stockphoto/

Images are free to use if credit is given to owner.

Stock Vault http://www.stockvault.net/

Stock photo sharing website with tutorials, templates and textures.

Stock,xchng   http://www.sxc.hu/

Over 336,000 photos in multiple categories.

Uncle Sam’s Photos  http://www.unclesamsphotos.com/

Directory of the U.S. Government’s free photo galleries.  -
See also: .govWatch’s list of 13 “Best Copyright-Free Photo Libraries” http://www.dotgovwatch.com/?/archives/8-The-Best-Copyright-Free-Photo-Libraries.html
- and USA.gov’s U.S. Government Photos and Graphics http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Graphics.shtml

Wikimedia Commons  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Central repository for photographs, diagrams, animations, music, spoken text, video clips, and media.  You can also add your own photos.

World War II Poster Collection  http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/

A comprehensive collection of over 300 posters issued by U.S. Federal     agencies from the onset of war through 1945.

WPClipart  http://www.wpclipart.com/

Collection of high-quality public domain images tailored for use in word processors and optimized for printing on home/small office inkjet printers. Includes color graphic clips as well as illustrations, photographs   and black and white line art.