November 22, 2010

Library of Congress images and copyright

Posted by Dr. Laura Guertin

One of my undergraduate researchers just emailed me, asking if she can use images from the Library of Congress website for a project.  First, I’m thrilled that my students are aware that the “best practice” is to use images in the public domain, images with no copyright.  I asked her to send me the links to the pages where she was considering using the images, and while waiting for her reply, I decided to start searching through the LOC website to see what they say about copyright.  I found some interesting information.

The Library of Congress has a page on Copyright and Primary Sources:  http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/copyright.html

The LOC also has links to additional, helpful websites.

And I also recommended to the student that she check out The Library of Congress’ photostream in flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/