Free and legal archival sound, interview, and other audio:
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| OpenVerse | Search across Creative Commons-licensed audio from a variety of sources. Choose "Audio" from the content type dropdown near the search bar. | Check each file. |
| Internet Archive Audio Archive | 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. | Check the Usage field on each video for copyright status. |
| Wikimedia Commons | After searching, choose "Audio" in the menu above search results. | Check the Permission section of each file for details |
| Library of Congress audio recordings collections | Digitized audio collections from the Library of Congress. | Check the Rights & Access section of each file for usage info. |
| Digital Public Library of American (DPLA) | After running a search, choose Type "sound" | See "How Can I Use It?" boxes on the left side |
| Credo (UMass Amherst's digitized collections) | After searching, click "Genres" to filter for audiocassettes, oral history, etc. | See Rights section of each file. |
Here are some sites where you can download audio files that can be used for free.
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| Youtube Audio Library |
Filter by genre, length, etc and choose from thousands of songs. |
No. |
| CCMixter | A community music remixing site featuring remixes and samples licensed under Creative Commons licenses. Over 38,000 (and growing) pieces of music are available. | Depends; see their licenses overview. |
| Free Music Archive | Library of openly licensed audio. | Yes, learn how here. |
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| BBC Sound Effects | Over 16,000 are made available by the BBC in WAV format to download for use under the terms of the RemArc Licence. The Sound Effects are BBC copyright, but they may be used for personal, educational or research purposes, as detailed in the license. | Yes: bbc.co.uk – © copyright [the year goes here] BBC |
| FreeSound.org |
Mostly recordings and sound effects, some music clips. |
Depends, see each clip for information. |
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| Images from the History of Medicine | Collections of the U.S. National Library of Medicine from the 15th to 21st century. | Most are in the public domain. See the Copyright field to confirm. |
| MedPix | "MedPix® is a free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics, integrating images and textual metadata including over 12,000 patient case scenarios, 9,000 topics, and nearly 59,000 images. Our primary target audience includes physicians and nurses, allied health professionals, medical students, nursing students and others interested in medical knowledge." | Free for use in education. |
| PhyloPic | Free silhouette images of animals, plants, and other life forms. | Yes, varies item-by-item. |
| Public Health Image Library (PHIL) | Uncheck the "Copyright Restricted" box under Image Types | Yes, see file for credit detail. |
| SMART (Servier Medical Images) | High-quality medical illustrations and images shared under a Creative Commons license | Yes, see how here. |
| USDA National Agricultural Library Digital Collections | Find different digital materials (including images) in collections like Historical Dietary Guidance, Animal Welfare Act History, Smokey Bear Digital Collection, and far more. | Yes. |
| Wellcome Collection Images | After you run a search, choose "Licenses" in the Filter By menu to choose a license appropriate for your work. |
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| Europeana |
Offers over 20 million digital images from Europe's museums, libraries, archives and audio-visual collections -- all of which are in the public domain. Enter your search term, then click 'Can I use this?' in the right sidebar and select 'Yes' and/or 'Yes, with conditions'. |
Depends, see image copyright for details. |
| Flickr Commons | "Since launching in 2008 with the Library of Congress, the Flickr Commons has been sharing hidden treasures from the world’s photography archives, with over 100 members." | |
| NYPL Digital Gallery | Provides free and open access to over 800,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs and more. | No, but it is appreciated. |
| The Getty Trust's Open Content Program | Currently free access to use images from the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum. | No, but it is encouraged to include "Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program." |
| Open Access at the National Gallery of Art | Repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. On this website you can search, browse, share, and download images. More than 25,000 open access digital images up to 3000 pixels each are available free of charge for download and use. | No, but it is appreciated. |
| LIFE photo archive hosted by Google | "Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google." | Unclear. |
| Smithsonian Open Access | "You can download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. With new platforms and tools, you have easier access to more than 4.9 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections." | If designated CC0, no - but it is appreciated! |
| VADS | "VADS provides a national collection of over 140,000 images from over 300 art and design collections across the UK, which are freely available for non-commercial use in education." | Free for use in education. |
| Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) | After running a search, choose Type "image" | After running a search, see "How Can I Use It?" filter on the left side |
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| Unsplash | Great resource for high-quality stock photos; make sure you aren't clicking on 'Unsplash+' (their paid service). | No, but it is appreciated. |
| OpenVerse | Search across Creative Commons-licensed audio from a variety of sources. | Check each item. |
| Burst | High-quality stock photos provided via Shopify. | Not generally, but check each file. |
| Pixabay | Over 3 million+ high quality stock images, videos and music. | No, but it is appreciated. |
| StockSnap.io | A large selection of beautiful free stock photos and high resolution images | No, but it is appreciated. |
| Pexels | All photos are nicely tagged, searchable and also easy to discover through their discover pages. | No, but it is appreciated. |
Many of the larger libraries of free stock photos tend to depict predominantly white, cis people. Here's some other options:
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| Disabled and Here | "...a disability-led effort to provide free & inclusive stock images from our own perspective, with photos and illustrations celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC)." | Yes, find out how here. |
| Images of Empowerment | "A free library of images celebrating women’s lives and their work in 13 countries around the world [...] Too often, images from low- and middle-income countries focus on poverty and tremendous need rather than what we see everywhere we go: women in decision-making roles, working to earn income, and accessing and providing reproductive health information and services to care for themselves and their families." | Yes, find how here. |
| Iwaria | A stock photo platform that provides authentic and high-quality African images. The photos include fields such as formal or informal work, nature, African cultures, African food, and startup companies in order to offer a wide choice for users. | Under each item, click + View photo info and find the license info. |
| Queer in Tech | Free and inclusive images celebrating queer folks in tech spaces. | Yes, see examples here. |
| Women of Color in Tech Chat | Images of women and non-binary people of color in tech. | Yes. |
| Gender Spectrum collection from VICE | "The Gender Spectrum Collection is a stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary models that go beyond the clichés. This collection aims to help media better represent members of these communities as people not necessarily defined by their gender identities—people with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and home lives." | Unclear |
| Nappy | High-res photos of black and brown people for free. | No, but it is appreciated. |
Credit to Tufts DDS for compiling some of this list!
| Name | Description | Attribution required? |
|---|---|---|
| Reshot | Download PNG or SVG formats for free. | No, but it is appreciated. |
| The Noun Project |
Very comprehensive icon collection created by graphic designers around the world. The attribution requirement can be waived upon payment of a nominal fee, which is split between the artist and The Noun Project. |
Yes, attribution format is generated when you download content. |
Fair Use: A Quick Guide
Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows you to use copyrighted material without permission under certain circumstances. For students working on projects like video essays, it's a valuable tool.
Key points to remember:
Example: If you're making a video essay about the Apollo 11 mission, you might use a short clip from the historical footage. This could qualify as fair use because it's for educational purposes, the clip is a small portion of the overall footage, and it's unlikely to affect the value of the original footage.
What wouldn't count is something like background music in a video essay about Apollo 11. While the overall purpose of the video essay might be educational, using background music that doesn't directly contribute to the educational content could be seen as more of an aesthetic choice, which might not fall under fair use. To use background music legally in your video essay, you'll need to use royalty-free music.
Remember: While fair use can be a helpful tool, it's always best to err on the side of caution. If you're unsure about whether your use qualifies as fair use, it's a good idea to consult with a librarian.
Read More:
Must be logged into a Youtube account (you can use your Wellesley email).