Library Guides: Visual Communication Guide for Library Staff: Finding Images

Public Domain and Creative Commons

The listed resources offer image collections that fall into one of the following categories:

Public Domain:
Images for which copyright has expired or have no known copyright restrictions.
Creative Commons:
Images are not free from copyright, but have been made available for reuse under conditional licenses. Check Creative Commons Australia for full license conditions.

The Commons Made available through Flickr, The Commons collects photography and digitized images from libraries, museums and institutions worldwide. All images are in the Public Domain and have no known copyright restrictions. Search by keyword, browse tags and Albums from participating institutions. Download, share or embed images using the options available. Embed codes will include appropriate attribution.
Flickr Creative Commons Search Flickr is an image management and sharing service. From this page you can search and browse images available under various Creative Commons licenses. You can search by keyword, browse tags and albums. Download, share or embed images using the options available. Embed codes will include appropriate attribution.
Fotor A free stock image site, search for images by keyword or tags and grab the HTML embed code to add the image and attribution to your website, blog etc.
The Getty - Open Content Images Keyword search The Getty's collections for photographs and digitized images available in the Public Domain. Before downloading an image you will be prompted to copy the attribution caption and provide details of how you will use the image.
LibreStock LibreStock searches across 40+ free stock images (CC0) sites. Search by keyword or tag. Images will link through to the original source site for downloading
The Noun Project The Noun Project collects over 150,000 icons and symbols freely available under CC BY or CC0 licenses. You can also purchase icons for royalty-free (non-attribution) use. You need to create an account prior to downloading icons.
PhotoPin Keyword search for images sourced from Flickr Creative Commons. Various file sizes available for download. Copy and paste the HTML code to embed image attribution. Please note searches will also return "sponsored images" which are only available on purchase.
Pixabay Keyword search for photos, illustrations and vector graphics available under Creative Commons Zero license (CC0) Please note searches will also return "sponsored images" which are only available on purchase.
StockSnap Free stock images available under CC0 license. Search by keyword or tag.
TinEye Labs - Multicolor Search A different image search site, search first by the colour/s you want in your images. Refine by tags. Images are sourced from Flickr Creative Commons, link through to Flickr to download and grab attribution codes.
Iconfinder Search over 800,000 icons with the option to filter by price and license conditions. Icons and icon packages are also available to purchase.

Institutional Collections

Many libraries, museums, and government organisations have image collections available for public use hosted on their websites or image sharing services such as Flickr.

Remember to always check the terms of use and license conditions.

Australian Pictures in Trove Previous titled Pictures Australia, Pictures in Trove collects and shares digitized images and photos from Australian heritage and cultural collections. Images are made available through Flickr. You can search by keyword, browse tags and albums. Download, share or embed images using the options available. Embed codes will include appropriate attribution.
New York Public Library
NASA Images
Artstor Public Collections Artstor public collections offer approximately 1 million freely accessible images, videos, documents, and audio files from library special collections, faculty research, and institutional history materials, as well as hundreds of thousands of open access images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Anyone may view and download these collections at library.artstor.org; no subscription or login required.

Google Image Search

Google Image search may bring you back thousands of related images it can also be very difficult to wade through low quality or restricted images.

You can filter your search results by size, colour, format, and usage rights. Click "Search Tools" from the top of the image results screen to access these filter options.

When browsing through the resulting images use the option to "view page" to access the image from the original source. This will help in obtaining the correct licensing, attribution and citation information.

CSU Library Subscription Collections

CSU Students and Staff have access to image collections through our database subscriptions.

Remember to check the terms of use before using the images.

CSU Library Stock Images

A collection of 250 stock images was purchased in 2014. These images are available to all Library staff. No image attribution is required and you are free to edit as needed.

The stock images can be accessed through:

S Drive (S:\Academic\Library Services\PUBLIC RELATIONS\Images\Stock Images\Full Size)

Scroll through the thumbnails. Make a copy of your chosen image and save for your own use. Do not edit the original image files.

Google Drive (csulibinfo)

Contact Business Services for the login details. You can scroll through the thumbnails or tag search for relevant images. Download and save your selected image/s.

Other S Drive Photos

Please note not all photos currently in the S Drive are available for public use. If you are unsure check with the staff member in the photo if they have given permission, or use an alternate image.

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Visual Communication Guide for Library Staff: Finding Images

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