Open Access Resources : Images / Audio / Video

The Flickr advanced search permits you to narrow your search to just images (further able to be limited to just photos) uploaded by users, and just those that users have indicated may be reused by others.

"The Europeana Open Culture app lets you explore hand-picked and beautiful image collections from some of Europe's top cultural institutions. You can browse, share and download for free more than 350,000 high-resolution images from four themes: Maps and Plans, Images of the Past, Treasures of Art and Treasures of Nature."

In August 2013, the Getty made openly accessible all the images to which it holds the rights (approximately 4,600 including public domain works). Limit your search in their database to "Open Content Images."

Once you search for images, quickly narrow down your search results to images you can reuse under the "Usage Rights" dropdown.

Lists 300 websites as of August 2013.

As of May 2014, "more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of public domain works in the Museum’s world-renowned collection may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use—including in scholarly publications in any media—without permission from the Museum and without a fee. The number of available images will increase as new digital files are added on a regular basis."

"NGA Images is a repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. On this website you can search, browse, share, and download images. A standards-based reproduction guide and a help section provide advice for both novices and experts. More than 25,000 open access digital images up to 3000 pixels each are available free of charge for download and use. NGA Images is designed to facilitate learning, enrichment, enjoyment, and exploration."

Download thousands of historic media files for your creative projects. Includes still images, audio files, video files, and 3D models.

"A database of 17,992,841 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute."

"Contains approximately 100,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery."

The Flickr advanced search permits you to narrow your search for just video content uploaded by users, and just videos that users have indicated may be reused by others.

The YouTube Video Editor allows you to search for Creative Commons-licensed videos that you would be able to reuse in your own videos. Free account required.

"This library contains thousands of digital movies uploaded by Archive users which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts. Many of these videos are available for free download." Part of the Internet Archive.

"The purpose of the Open Video Project is to collect and make available a repository of digitized video content for the digital video, multimedia retrieval, digital library, and other research communities."

Download thousands of historic media files for your creative projects. Includes still images, audio files, video files, and 3D models.

"A database of 17,992,841 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute."

This resource allows users to search for rights-free music clips and sound effects to download for use in their videos (uploading the finished project to YouTube is not required). Users can also search a database of ad-supported music to find out whether the music they plan to use in their YouTube videos will be flagged by the rights holder for monetization.

"This library contains over two hundred thousand free digital recordings ranging from alternative news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded by our users. Many of these audios and MP3s are available for free download." Part of the Internet Archive.

"The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads. The Free Music Archive is directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America. Radio has always offered the public free access to new music. The Free Music Archive is a continuation of that purpose, designed for the age of the internet."

"Opsound is a gift economy in action, an experiment in applying the model of free software to music. Musicians and sound artists are invited to add their work to the Opsound pool using a copyleft license developed by Creative Commons. Listeners are invited to download, share, remix, and reimagine."

Download thousands of historic media files for your creative projects. Includes still images, audio files, video files, and 3D models.

"A database of 17,992,841 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute."

Download free, Creative Commons-licensed instrumental music for educational use.

"Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation...Creative Commons licenses provide simple, standardized alternatives to the 'all rights reserved' paradigm of traditional copyright."

- Provides information about current copyright law and its alternatives in order to facilitate the writing and dissemination of best practices and fair use guidelines for scholarly and creative communities.

- Functions as a showcase for innovative forms of electronic scholarship and creative production that are transformative, culturally enriching and both legally and ethically defensible.

- Online tool for viewing, tagging, sharing, annotating and curating media