Sample Research Log (Keep track of your searches!)
- Sample Image Research LogWord document
Research & Instruction Librarian
How to Select a Database or Reference Source for your Image Research Topic
Factors to consider:
- Subjects included
- Time periods covered
- Descriptive Information provided (and the reliability or sources of this information)
- How comprehensive or how selective the collection might be
- Special features that allow you to refine searches
- Display, download resolution, or citation generation options
- Rights and Permissions
You might ask yourself:
- Who (what institution, organization, profession, or expert) might have collected images relevant to your topic? (Do they provide access to their collections?)
- Where might relevant images have been published or distributed? (In a database? Through an institutional or professional group's website?)
- Has a research guide, book, encyclopedia article, exhibition catalog, or dissertation, been published on the topic? (Check bibliographies and lists of illustration sources.) More information about print indexes to published images is available on the Images Resources guide Find Images in Books page.
A more comprehensive Image Resources Research Guide is also available at:
- Image Resources(Includes links to other UCLA Library Subject Research Guides with links to subject-specific image collections.)
Image Databases (Licensed for Research Use by the Library)
- ARTstor This link opens in a new window
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Over 2.5 million high-resolution images in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, contributed by museums, libraries, photo archives, and others, for teaching and research use. - AP Newsroom This link opens in a new window
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Millions of Associated Press Images dating from 1826 to present day. ("The world’s largest collections of historical and contemporary photographs.") Also see: the AP Images Editorial search page at: http://www.apimages.com/
Selected Online Image Collections (recommended by the librarian)
- New York Public Library Digital CollectionsMore than 830,000 of the of the items in the NYPL Digital Collections are now in the public domain
- Calisphere This link opens in a new windowDigitized images selected from the libraries and museums of the UC campuses, and from a variety of cultural heritage organizations across California.
- The Gender Spectrum Collection: Stock Photos Beyond the Binary
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"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." - Library of Congress Prints & Photographs CatalogImages on a wide array of topics, many in the public domain.
- National Geographic Photograph CollectionSearch by keyword or browse topics such as Culture & History, Environment, Exploration & Adventure, Science & Innovation, Travel.
- Smithsonian Libraries Image GalleryBooks illustrations, photos, drawings, and other images from across the Libraries.
Reference List Compiled by Prof. Mithlo (Spring 2019)
The following digitized collections are suggestions for use. You may additionally elect to draw images or film stills from your own research efforts.
- Online Image Collections from UCLA Image Resources Research GuideNote the sections for Arts & Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, and Los Angeles and Southern California
- Online Archive of California (OAC) This link opens in a new windowFinding aids for primary source collections in all UC campuses and other contributing institutions, including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California.
- Autry Museum of the American West Online CollectionsCollections cover documenation of the American West, including music, radio, television and film history, Gene Autry archives, plus TV scripts and stills.
- CSUN Tom & Ethel Bradley Center PhotographsContained in the online collection are thousands of images documenting African Americans in Los Angeles and transnational economic violence in Mexico.
- Cultural Appropriation (The American Indian Experience – ABC CLIO online encyclopedia)
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- Native American Mascots Stereotypes (The American Indian Experience – ABC CLIO online encyclopedia)
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Web Resources from GS 104 Syllabus (Spring 2019)
Creative Commons image search engines
- Creative Commons SearchSearches several sources of Creative Commons media, including Flickr, Google, Yahoo, and Wikimedia Commons.
- Flickr Creative Commons"Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license."
- Wikimedia CommonsPublic domain and freely-licensed images, sound, and video. Note the ability to browse by classification (topics, locations, media type, and more!) in addition to keyword searching.
Additional Information about Creative Commons licenses is available from the Image Resources Creative Commons Images page.