Image Resources List

Start here

The MIT Libraries have a Smugmug account of professionally shot photos of MIT Libraries’ staff, spaces, events, exhibits, special collections, etc. Contact Brigham for the password to download.

• Gallery of commonly used images sized for news site use
• Browse and search the entire collection
• SmugMug Quick Start guide

Additional MIT Photo Resources

MIT Photos 

• MIT Communications Initiatives Photo Library - A Flickr collection of professionally shot “stock” photos and video of MIT.  Over 800 images of the MIT campus, buildings, classrooms, teaching, student activities, etc.  Browse and search the collection.  
• Image Resources at MIT - MIT Libraries' research guide that highlights several web sites for finding MIT-related images, with a focus on art and architecture

Photos from both MIT collections are for use in MIT websites and publications only. Reproduced photos must credit the photographers.

Library image archives in the Public Domain

• Getty Open Content Program
• British Library Flickr
• Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection

General Photos (Free)

Note: As of September 2023, avoid use of images licensed under the CC-BY 2.0 license due to complications with attribution requirements. 

• Pixabay - images and video released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0
• Flickr - Search for Creative Commons licensed photos by selecting "Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content" in Advanced Search. Include a photo credit or attribution as indicated by the photographer.
• MorgueFile -  A public image archive with high-resolution digital stock photography for public use. Use this resource for generic images that can’t be found from MIT resources. Image quality (professional v. non) varies.  Most photos don’t require attribution, but check license before using.
• Finding Images - MIT Libraries' research guide that highlights several web sites for finding images, with a focus on art and architecture
• US Government Photo Archives - A good resource for research, science and historic images. Most photos and images on these sites are in the public domain and may be used and reproduced without permission or fee.  Some however, are protected by license (e.g. Smithsonian), so please be sure to read the disclaimers on each site before downloading a photo.  Photos sources should be credited (e.g. Courtesy of: National Science Foundation)

A few examples of gov. image sites:

• National Science Foundation: http://nsf.gov/news/mmg/
• National Institute of Standards and Technology: http://patapsco.nist.gov/imagegallery/
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/index.html
• National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/imagebase.html
• Library of Congress Prints and Photographs online catalog: http://www.loc.gov/pictures

General Photos (For a fee)

iStock: An online, royalty free stock photography provider. Images are for sale and can be reused indefinitely. Use this resource for generic images that can’t be found from MIT resources. Contact: Brigham Fay.