If you wish to include images in your work, you might wish to ensure that they are copyright free or reusable and that you provide an acknowledgment where appropriate. See our Copyright guide for further information on copyright matters.
As with textual material, images are likely to be subject to copyright in their own right. This includes photographs, diagrams and other illustrations, whether from printed sources, or online sources like the Internet, online journals and databases.
However, there are sources of images that are free to use - see below (but they must be acknowledged, sometimes according to guidelines in the resource).
The tables below contain details of resources that contain images which can be freely used under certain circumstances.
Remember that even if free to use, the images must be acknowledged (normally - there are a couple of exceptions below)
In addition the resources below are sources of free images:
Pixabay (images are free to re-use and attribution is not required)
Unsplash (images are free to re-use and attribution is not required though is appreciated)
Johns Hopkins Guide to Finding Images - Health sciences, medicine, anatomy, etc.
This US resource also has useful information and details of other sources of images and other media: Copyright-Friendly Media
In the unlikely event you cannot find a suitable image using any of the resources on this page, then you could try using Flickr, but it is important that you choose an image with a licence that will allow you to re-use it in your own work.
To do this: perform a search for what you are looking for, then click on 'Any licence' (on the top left of the page) and choose a licence that will allow re-use according to the terms you require.
A similar facility is available with Google image searches: click 'Search tools' and then 'Usage rights'.
The following resources are image repositories where there is an automatic entitlement to re-use in particular circumstances. Exact terms of use vary but see further information below.
This box contains general resources, and the box below contains resources for Health Sciences.
| Resource and description | Full terms of use (where available) | Permitted | Not permitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Commons (CC) - type of licence which allows copyright holders to share their work. | Various licences. Find an image and click on "some rights reserved" (bottom right) for terms which apply to it. See Creative Commons licences under "The Licenses" for full list of CC licences. | Educational use, adding to secure network (e.g. VLE). | Commercial use (usually), re-use on an unsecure network (e.g. free-to-access website). |
| Everystockphoto - an image search engine allowing access to photos from many sources. | Terms vary. Click on the licence icon (below and to the left of every image) for further information. | Terms vary | Terms vary |
| FreeDigitalPhotos.net - download free and premium stock photos and illustrations for websites, advertising materials, newspapers, magazines, e-books, book covers and pages, music artwork, software applications, etc. | FreeDigitalPhotos terms | Any uses marked "standard licence" (see the terms) are permitted. Some images may be used free of charge, others are only available for purchase. | Commercial use |
| Media Plus (use your City username and password to login) - resources from a wide range of collections. |
|
Educational use, adding to secure network (e.g. VLE). | Commercial use, re-use on unsecure network (e.g. free-to-access website). |
| Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) - "a considerable portfolio of visual art collections comprising over 100,000 images that are freely available and copyright cleared for use in learning, teaching and research in the UK". | Visual Arts Data Service Common access agreement | Material may be duplicated by you for your research use or educational purposes in electronic or print form. | Electronic or print copies may not be offered, whether for sale or otherwise to anyone who is not an authorised user. |
| WorldImages - access to the California State University IMAGE Project which contains almost 75,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery. | Copying and redistribution in any medium or format, remix/transform/build upon the material (you must indicate when this has been done). You must attribute. | Commercial use |
| Resource and description | URL for full terms of use (where available) | Permitted | Not permitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bassett Collection of Stereoscopic Images of Human Anatomy - Stanford School of Medicine database |
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US)
|
Copying and redistribution in any medium or format; remix/transform/build upon the material (you must indicate when this has been done and distribute your contributions under the same license as the original). You must attribute | Commercial use |
| Primal Pictures (log in via Library catalogue) - a collection of dynamic, interactive modules featuring three-dimensional anatomy models | Anatomy TV terms and conditions | Display on computer screen, print one copy for your own personal, non-commercial use | Reproduction, modifying, copying, distribution other than specified opposite |