I am a first generation college graduate with a BA in Biology and Master's in Library & Information Science. I'm available to help you find and use Kennedy Library resources and services that will help you succeed at Cal Poly, SLO. Click my image above to view my bio.
Google Images is a quick and easy way to find lots of images from web pages across the globe. But it only searches web content that it can find -- many images are actually hidden in databases or archives (whether freely available or in Cal Poly's subscription databases). The quality of images - size, resolution, description, usage rights - also varies considerably on the open web. Use Google, but don't rely on it for all image searches. Explore this page for more high-quality options.
Image search engine that locates high-resolution images with Creative Commons licenses for use in presentations, blogs, etc. Also retrieves stock photos.
Tip: Use advanced search or facets to limit by image size, images within a domain/site (e.g. site: calpoly.edu), and usage rights. Also includes Reverse Image Search.
Submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, how it is being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions.
Image Sharing Sites
Be sure to follow license conditions and terms of use.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation. You can also find CC searches in Google Images (under the gear icon in Advanced Search) and other sites like Flickr
Flickr is a public photo-sharing site with billions of images. It is a rich resource to find images for your research (news events, places, people, etc.). Flickr users can opt to share their images with others under creative commons licenses (alternative to copyright).
Images with no known copyright (public domain) from cultural institutions world-wide.
NOTE: To download images from Flickr, some require a Yahoo account sign up. To workaround this, follow the directions of this video: https://youtu.be/CSNlRvsn8FU
RIGHT CLICK on View all Sizes option and then Save Link As.
ARTstor is a cross-discipline image library supporting education and research. Its JSTOR Forum community collections feature includes thousands of images added by Cal Poly. ARTstor images have been rights-cleared for use in education and research, including classroom instruction and handouts, presentations, student assignments, and other noncommercial educational and scholarly activities.
Statista is a statistics portal which provides direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets. The database features unlimited downloads, source citations and direct use or export of results in PowerPoint, Excel PDF and Graphic (PNG) formats.
Users may need to disable ad blocking software on this site if search results links don't work.
WorldImages Kiosk is a searchable image database created by faculty, staff and students in the CSU system. It contains images from a wide variety of fields, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery. Images are licensed for non-profit educational use with attribution (CC BY-NC 2.5).
Digital Image Collections
The following are selected digital collections that provide access to a variety of images in the public domain and under copyright. Please check the terms of use and image rights statements for more information.
The Campus Art Catalog serves as an online database of Cal Poly’s university art collection and contains searchable data for selections of the artwork. Development of the catalog is ongoing with new records being added often.
The University of California's free public gateway to a world of primary sources. More than 200,000 digitized items — including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts — reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.
From the University of Washington Libraries, The Cities and Buildings Database is a collection of digitized images of buildings and cities drawn from across time and throughout the world, available to students, researchers and educators on the web.
This repository of digital images documenting the National Gallery of Art collections allows users to search, browse, share, and download images believed to be in the public domain. More than 20,000 open access digital images up to 3000 pixels each are available free of charge for download and use.
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.