LibGuides: Copyright Basics For Educators and Students: Finding Free Articles and Images

The Value of Information

“Information possesses several dimensions of value, including as a commodity, as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a means of negotiating and understanding the world. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination (16)” - ACRL Framework of Information Literacy

Information is perhaps one of the most valuable things to possess, but because of the nature of copyright law and publishing, information can be challenging to obtain and use legally. This page will provide a list of materials that are free to use and access. Make sure to check the copyright agreements of everything before using it for anything outside the realm of fair use.

Articles/Journals/Textbooks that are Free to Use

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
A repository of open-access journals that are free to access. Not all journals are licensed under creative commons. Make sure to check the license agreement before using any material beyond fair use.
LibreTexts
Created by UC Davis with the support of Department of Education grants, LibreTexts contains open textbooks and other OERs. This link will take you to the campus bookshelves page where you can browse what texts instructors are using for their classes at other institutions. To browse your own subject, use the "Libraries" tab on the left.
OpenStax Textbook Library
OpenStax "publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed college textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print. Seriously. We are also conducting cutting edge learning research and providing free interactive, standards-aligned Algebra I curriculum giving educators and students the tools they need to drive learning and achievement."
Open Textbook Library
A repository of over 13,000 openly licensed textbooks spanning many different disciplines. The Open Textbook Library is maintained and managed by the Open Education Network (OEN) from the University of Minnesota.

Images that are Free to Use

Flicker 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.
Google Advanced Image Search
provides a field for usage rights where you can select the type of license you want, including free to use and share, free to use, share and modify, and free to use, share even commercially. You can search by exact word or phrase, by image size and aspect ratio, color, type of image (e.g. face, photo, clip art, etc.), by domain or website, by file type (e.g. JPG, GIF), and by usage rights.
Pixabay Image Library
Over 4 million royalty-free images that can be used on presentation slides, handouts, posters, etc. Before using an image make sure to review Pixibay's conditions of use.
Unsplash
"offers photos licensed under Creative Commons Zero, which means you can copy, modify, distribute, and use the photos for free, including for commercial purposes, without asking permission from or providing attribution to the photographer or Unsplash."