Public Domain Images/Music
To find images available in the public domain for use in projects, you can use the resources linked below to start.
- Wikimediacheck item record for permissions.
- Creative Commonscheck the CC license for limitations on use.
- Google ImagesUse the tools menu to limit your search by the "usage rights" of the image.
- Public Domain PicturesA repository for free public domain images.
- The Public Domain ReviewA curated collection of openly licensed images from libraries and museums such as the British Library, the Rijksmuseum, and the UK National Archives.
- PixabayHigh-resolution photos, vectors, and art illustrations for free use.
- Intellectual Property and the ArtsThe College Art Association's guide on fair use, permissions, and copyright in the visual arts.
You can also the Creative Commons website as a guide for how to cite these images.
To find music available in the public domain for use in classroom projects, you can use the resources linked below
- YouTube Audio LibraryDesigned for creators looking to add copyright-free music to their work.
- MusopenThis source archives open-access recordings of classical music
- PD InfoSearchable list of public domain music
Medical Images
Medical image resources will provide varied options for locating copyright information and use guidelines may differ even in the same database.
- PMC (PubMed Central) This link opens in a new windowFormerly PubMed Central, PMC is a free digital archive of life sciences journal literature managed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) with two main types of content: Commercial publishers archive the content of entire journals, which can be viewed issue by issue or searched by keyword. Authors whose work has been funded by NIH must contribute copies of the resulting research articles (2008-present).
The default display for PMC search results is the Summary view:
The following article includes a variety of clinical images.
Copyright and License Information is found below the author names by selecting the title link to display the full text.
- Images from the History of MedicineImages from the History of Medicine (IHM) in NLM Digital Collections provides online access to images from the historical collections of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. IHM includes image files of a wide variety of visual media including fine art, photographs, engravings, and posters that illustrate the social and historical aspects of medicine dating from the 15th to 21st century.
- MedPixMedPix® is a free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics, integrating images and textual metadata. Images from the MedPix database are accompanied by MedPix Licensing Information which will link to the text. "MedPix® images and case materials were contributed by many individuals. They are organized, reviewed, approved, and curated free of charge for your personal use and for local teaching at your institution - including distribution of handouts and syllabi. For anything other than personal use, you should respect the original contributor and contact them for additional permission requests."
- National Cancer Institute: Visuals OnlineThe National Cancer Institute (NCI) Visuals Online provides a range of photographs and illustrations that may help communicators of medical and public health convey meaning, describe concepts, and tell stories. The collection spans everything from biomedical, science, and patient-care related illustrations and images to portraits of present and past directors and the staff of the National Cancer Institute.
- About NIH visuals onlineEach image or illustration included in the NCI Visuals Online Web site is labeled either "Public Domain" (free to use) or "Copyright Protected" (restricted, obtain permission before use). Additional detail included on this link for acknowledging public domain images and steps to take for copyrighted protected images.
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences: Image and Video LibraryThis is a searchable collection of scientific photos, illustrations, and videos. The images and videos in this gallery are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0. This license lets you remix, tweak, and build upon this work non-commercially, as long as you credit and license your new creations under identical term
- National Library of Medicine Visible Human ProjectThe NLM Visible Human Project has created publicly-available complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of a human male body and a human female body. Specifically, the VHP provides a public-domain library of cross-sectional cryosection, CT, and MRI images obtained from one male cadaver and one female cadaver. The Visible Man data set was publicly released in 1994 and the Visible Woman in 1995.
- Open i: Open Access Biomedical Image Search Engine"Open-i is the service of the National Library of Medicine that enables search and retrieval of abstracts and images (including charts, graphs, clinical images, etc.) from the open source literature, and biomedical image collections."
Note: Copyright remains with the authors or the journal. A link to the copyright license type may be found below the individual Open-i image on the detailed view page. If copyright restrictions for an image are not specified or are unclear, please contact the journal that published the image. - Public Health Image LibraryPhotographs, illustrations, and multimedia files, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, organized into hierarchical categories of people, places, and science. The Details page for each image provides the "Copyright Restrictions."
- Thomas Jefferson University - Center City Archives & Special CollectionsThe Thomas Jefferson University - Center City Archives & Special Collections points to where the university is heading by documenting where it has been by acquiring, preserving, and making available for research official university records, personal papers, memorabilia, and other materials of enduring historical value that document the development of Jefferson and its constituent institutions, affiliates, and alumni.