Free resources

Free resources

The diverse resources linked below, provided by external organizations, are available to users at no cost. Users may need to provide credit to the creator. To learn more about attribution, review the Creative Commons licenses website. If you have questions about attribution, contact your liaison librarian.

Multiple Resource Types:

• Creative Commons Search - use this site to search for Creative Commons licensed materials across multiple platforms
• Wikimedia Commons - video, images, sounds and 3D models

Images (General)

• Unsplash - royalty free images and stock photos can be used with no permissions needed, although attribution is appreciated
• Pixabay - royalty free images and stock photos can be used for educational purposes with no permissions needed, although attribution is appreciated
• Pixnio - royalty free images can be used with no permissions needed. Review their license section for details about using images outside of educational purposes. 
• Getty Images - Getty Images has made it legal and free to use their images for non-commercial use on website and social media platforms when using an embed code. This can be a great way for faculty, staff and students to legally use quality images online. This webpage includes instructions on how to legally and freely use their image with the proper embed code.
• Flickr Commons - more than 100 institutions, including the Library of Congress, share archival images via Flickr Commons. Click on each image to view usage rights and attribution requirements.

Inclusive Images

• Disabled And Here Collection (CC – attribution required) - royalty free images can be used with attribution. The site includes photos and illustrations celebrating and created by disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).
• The Greats (CC – attribution required, also NC-SA) - royalty free images can be used with attribution for noncommercial purposes. The site includes visual content focused on social justice issues.
• The Gender Spectrum Collection (CC – attribution required, also NC-ND) - royalty free images, primarily requiring attribution, most allowing no changes to the existing images
• Nappy (CC0 – attribution not required) - royalty free images of people of color that can be used at no cost, with or without attribution
• Age Positive Image Library (CC0 – attribution not required) - royalty free images of adults over 50 that can be used at no cost, with or without attribution (link opens a PDF guide to using the images)
• Open Peeps (CC0 – attribution not required) - a hand-drawn image library. Images can be downloaded and manipulated at no cost and without attribution.

Scientific Images

• Open-i - an open access biomedical search engine provided by the National Library of Medicine. Follow the usage guidelines found below each image.

Icons

• Flaticon.com (attribution required) - royalty free icons and stickers

Music Sources and Resources

• Murray Library has streaming music options available at no cost to you
• Choral Public Domain Library - includes public domain choral/vocal scores, texts, translations that are free to use
• International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)/Petrucci Music Library - includes both public domain and copyrighted scores available to use at not cost if you follow their licensing guidelines
• YouTube Creator Studio - includes music and sound effects for free. Some commercial music is available depending on its use and publication
• Freesound - a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed music and sound effects
• Musopen - a non-profit focused on increasing access to music by creating free resources and educational materials
• Free Music Archive - an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads directed by WFMU, the most renowned free-form radio station in America
• Incompetech - Kevin MacLeod’s public portfolio

Sound Effect Resources

• AudioMicro.com - 2,000 free sound effects
• freeSFX - several thousand free sound effects in hundreds of categories that are very good quality
• SoundBible.com - 2,000 free sounds that are licensed under Creative Commons
• 99Sounds collections of high quality sounds created by various sound designers

Plays

• Project Gutenberg has scripts that are in the public domain which may be used at no cost
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare archive was created by an MIT student and contains electronic copies of Shakespeare's work, which is in the public domain

Video Resources

• Murray Library has thousands of streaming video options available at no cost to you. 
• YouTube, Vimeo, and other video platform content can be linked or embedded in Canvas as long as the source is a legal copy (e.g. uploaded by the creator of the video or the video copyright holder)