How do I find images and pictures on the Internet?

Library Databases

NOTE: You must have an Austin Public Library card to access these databases from home. If you do not have a card, skip to the Websites portion of this page.

• e Library CE database has an easy-to-use interface and contains thousands of pictures. Uncheck all boxes except for the Pictures box, enter you search terms in the search box, and click Search
• MasterFILE Premier contains an image collection of 202,000 photos, maps, and flags. Use this database to search for photos of people, places, or historical images. Enter your search terms in the search box and then click Search. On the left hand side of the Search Results page, click Images under Source Type.
• Factiva includes pictures from Reuters and the McClatchy-Tribune Photo Service, as well as other sources. See a database tip for instructions on limiting your search to a specific source.
• History Study Center contains more than three thousand captioned historical photos, political cartoons, and woodcuts. Type in your search terms in the search box, select Multimedia from the dropdown box next to it, and click Go!.

Websites

When looking for images on the Internet it is important to pay attention to copyright. Materials that are protected by copyright cannot be used without the permission of the copyright holder, although there can be exceptions. See APL's Copyrights, Trademarks & Patents research guide for more information. The following list links to both free and fee-based online image collections.

• Corbis is an image search engine. These images are not free and are intended for use by advertising, media, and marketing professionals.
• Flickr is an open access photo sharing Web site that allows users to post and share their personal photos with the public. All photos can be downloaded for free but restrictions on use will vary for each image. Flikr has a free use collection.
• FreeFoto contains over a million images. Non-commercial users may download Web size images for free or purchase higher quality versions directly from the site.
• Google Image Search is a service that allows you to use the Google search engine only for images.
• LIFE Photo Archive hosted by Google allows you to search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time.
• Smithsonian Images allows you to download screen resolution images for personal and educational use, or you can purchase high-quality prints and digital images through an online ordering system. These images are protected by copyright and commercial use is prohibited.
• Time Life Pictures is a unique collection of photographs from Time, Life and other Time Inc. publications. These images are not free and are intended for editorial use.
• Yotophoto provides free access to a number of images. All images can be downloaded for free but some terms of use apply.

Public Domain Web Sites

One way to avoid issues of copyright is to use images in the public domain. These are images that are no longer protected by copyright. Here are some good Web sites for locating images in the public domain.

• American Memory Project from the Library of Congress provides free access to materials from the Library of Congress and other institutions that document the American experience.
• New York Public Library Digital Gallery provides access to over 550,000 images from the collections of the New York Public Library.
• NOAA Photo Library contains images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's photography collection.
• The Picture Collection is a product of the New York Public Library that presents images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923.
• The University of Texas at Austin Portrait Gallery contains portraits of historical figures that can be browsed by categories like literature and science.
• US Fish and Wildlife Pictures is a collection of images from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Web Gallery of Art is a searchable database of European painting and sculpture from 12th to mid-19th centuries. The collection is intended for educational and personal use.
• Wikipedia Public Domain Image Resources page contains a number of links to additional Web sites that provide access to public domain image collections. The links are organized into categories like history, art, and postage stamps.

How do I find images using print sources in the library?

Images of famous artwork, architecture or photography can be found in the library by searching the Library's FindIt Catalog. Try a basic search for the artist or creator, or if you know the name of a specific picture or painting use the name of the work. When searching for pictures of subjects like people or places you can add the phrases and pictorial works or and plates to limit your search to books with pictures. For example, Grand Canyon and pictorial works will find books with pictures of the Grand Canyon.

Look for books that have the OS suffix at the end of the call number; these materials are located in the oversized book collection and usually contain high quality pictures. You can limit your search to only oversized books by adding the phrase and OS to your search terms. This collection is located along the west wall of the building on the 3^rd floor.

The 2^nd floor reference shelves have books that contain images related to specific topics or periods. Some of these books are:

The Black Experience	R 973.0496073 BL
The Civil War	R 973.70222 CI
Key Issue in Constitutional History	R 973.0222 KE
The Faces of America	R 920.073 FA
Symbols, Signs & Signets	R 704.946 Le
The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols	R 302.222 Br
The Picture Reference File	R 704.94 PI V.1 and V.2
The Ron Yablon graphic archives	R 760 YA V.1 -4

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