Research Guides: Open Educational Resources (OER): Dive Deep: Images

Search Open Images

Please note that search.creativecommons.org This link opens in a new window is not a search engine, but rather offers convenient access to search services provided by other independent organizations. CC has no control over the results that are returned. Do not assume that the results displayed in this search portal are under a CC license. You should always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link. Since there is no registration to use a CC license, CC has no way to determine what has and hasn't been placed under the terms of a CC license. If you are in doubt you should contact the copyright holder directly, or try to contact the site where you found the content.

Excerpt from Creative Commons CC Search This link opens in a new window

Creative Commons Search This link opens in a new window
Flickr Commons This link opens in a new window
Free public domain images from all over the world. FlickrCommons’ images contain no known copyright restrictions.
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Rights Statement, Participating Institutions, etc.: https://www.flickr.com/commons/usage/

DEI-Focused Image Collections

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Use these photos to help bring issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion into the learning environment.

#WOCinTech Chat This link opens in a new window
Free photos of women and non-binary people of color working in Tech; License: CC BY #WOCinTech Chat or wocintechchat.com
Allgo Plus-Size This link opens in a new window
Free Stock photography featuring plus-size people at home; License: Attribution not required.
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While attribution is not required to use the photos, we do ask that you please credit AllGo and photographer Michael Poley of Poley Creative https://poleycreative.com/
Disabled And Here This link opens in a new window
Free stock photography, interviews and portraits featuring disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color), varied body sizes/types, sexual orientations, and gender identities in the Pacific Northwest; License CC BY 4.0
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Photos should be attributed to Disabled And Here. When possible, please link back to the Disabled And Here project page.
Images of Empowerment This link opens in a new window
Free images of women’s lives and work, created by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Getty Images. License: Free for non-commercial use under CreativeCommons licensing (CC-BY-NC-4.0).
Nappy This link opens in a new window
Free high resolution photos of black and brown people; License: Creative Commons Zero (CC0)
PICNOI This link opens in a new window
Free stock photos of people of color; License: No attribution required, but can give credit by linking to site
Redefining Women Icon Collection This link opens in a new window
Icons of women; License: Creative Commons Public Domain CC0 1.0

Museum, Library, and Newspaper Collections

The British Library This link opens in a new window
1 million images scanned from 17th, 18th, and 19th century books, all within the public domain.
Cleveland Museum of Art This link opens in a new window
Cleveland Museum of Art has dedicated 30,000 high resolution images into the public domain using CC0.
Getty Search Gateway This link opens in a new window
High resolution, public domain images from the Getty Museum's permanent collection. No permission is required.
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For more info on attribution, fair use, and public domain rights: https://www.getty.edu/about/whatwedo/opencontent.html
New York Times Images This link opens in a new window
These images from The New York Times are in the public domain as they were published prior to January 1, 1923.
NYPL Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
High-resolution downloads of public domain images, no permission required. New materials added often, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Old Book Illustrations This link opens in a new window
Collection of public domain illustrations scanned from old books.
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Terms of Use: https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/terms-of-use/
Smithsonian Institution Flickr This link opens in a new window
Go to "More," then "Profile" for a description of the collection and links to terms of use, which specify permitted uses can be for personal, educational, or non-commercial uses.
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Images must be cited and link back to the content when possible.

Government Collections

Library of Congress 'Free to Use and Reuse Sets' This link opens in a new window
This is a small sample of the LOC's digital collections that are free to use and reuse, including African-American Women Matchmakers, World War I Posters, Baseball Cards, and Classic Children's Books. The digital collections comprise millions of items including books, newspapers, manuscripts, prints and photos, maps, musical scores, films, sound recordings and more.
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Whenever possible, each collection has its own rights statement which should be consulted for guidance on use.
Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Library of Congress Flickr This link opens in a new window
Please note the copyright designation once you click on the photo.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog This link opens in a new window
LOC's prints and photographs are considered primary sources and are open for public use.
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Each collection has a "Rights and Restrictions" link on the sidebar for a complete explanation.
NASA Image & Video Library This link opens in a new window
NASA's image library consolidates imagery spread across 60 collections into one searchable location.
Official U.S. Government Flickr This link opens in a new window
Please note the copyright designation once you click on the photo.
Smithsonian Open Access This link opens in a new window
Download, share, reuse, and remix millions of images with the CC0, public domain designation.