Arts and Media Research Guide

Mansfield Library databases (NetID required):

• JSTOR 
  • After getting into the database, you'll see the words, "Advanced Search" above a search box. In between "Advanced Search" and the search box, you'll see two tabs labeled "All content" and "Images" respectively. Click on "Images" to search for images. There are a variety of limiters you can enable by using advanced search below the search box. 
• Oxford Art Online 
  • IMPORTANT: Access to this database is limited to 3 users at a time. After getting into the database, type in a keyword for your desired image on the upper right hand corner of the screen. You'll see a drop-down box to the left of this search box where you can search either Grove Art Online or Oxford Art Online. After you type in your search term and hit "enter/return", your results will come up and you'll also see options to limit your search by format on the left of the screen. Select "Images" under the heading "Format" and you'll retrieve the images. 

Internet:

• Ad*Access (Duke University)
  • Contains reproductions of newspaper and magazine advertisements from 1911 through 1955.
• American Memory (Library of Congress)
  • Search box is on the upper right hand corner of the page. You'll see a drop down box that says, "Everything"; click on the drop-down box and choose, "Photos, prints, drawings", to search for images. 
• Flickr Commons
  • Items found in this collection carry "no known copyright restrictions."  They are mainly located in public cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and others. Be sure to double-check the image's description for rights information. 
• Getty Images
  • Contains photos, stock video footage, as well as some music.  Keep in mind that this is a proprietary site and you may need to pay to use these files. 
• Google image search
  • This link goes to the advanced image search page. Here you can search for images using keywords as well as limit by image size, image type, region, domain (e.g. ".edu" or ".org" might bring up museum pages as the image source) and usage rights. 
• LIFE Photo Archive
  • Search for published and unpublished photos from the LIFE Magazine archive. Google hosts this project, so locating images in this collection is similar to using Google Image Search.
• New York Public Library (NYPL) Digital Gallery
  • Contains over a million images from the NYPL's digital collections.
• Reelposter Gallery
  • This site can help you find advertisement posters for vintage films. Keep in mind that the site is proprietary and they use the search mechanism as a means to sell posters that you are able to locate. 
• Sciences-Finding and Using Images (Wesleyan University Library)
  • Library guide provides links to sites that can help you locate more scientific images. Some of these sites can only be accessed by Wesleyan University Library patrons. 
• VADS
  • Contains over 140,000 images from UK arts organizations. According to the web site, they are "free for use in education". 
• World Digital Library
  • This collection is hosted by the Library of Congress and "contains cultural heritage materials gathered during the World Digital Library (WDL) project, including thousands of items contributed by partner organizations worldwide as well as content from Library of Congress collections." 

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