This guide is intended to assist people who are interested in finding and exploring works that have entered the public domain. It provides tips on general strategies for searching for public domain resources, highlights a selection of online collections that contain public domain works, and offers suggestions for searching these resources effectively to ensure that you are retrieving items that are truly in the public domain. Finally, it includes an overview of Creative Commons licensing and brief information about how works enter the public domain in various countries.
Type of Material:
Reference Material
Recommended Uses:
This resource is primarily a reference tool, not an instructional tool. It is recommended as a background reading material or resource for discussions on public domain.
Technical Requirements:
Browser. Tested in Chrome, FireFox, and Microsoft Edge.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Users will have a general understanding of public domain and Creative Commons licensing.
Users will learn about several online collections containing public domain works.
Users will be able to navigate online collections to identify works within the public domain or with Creative Commons licensing.
Target Student Population:
High School, College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Works well as a reference source linking to several notable classic online collections containing public domain images, as well as a few less well-known ones.
Provides information on how to conceptualize a search process for public domain works.
Provides information about how to search some collections to make sure the work is licensed in the public domain.
Takes care to explain creative commons licensing to ensure the user understands their usage rights.
Concerns:
Not all sources seem equally useful, though a clear majority would be helpful. At times, the explanations of how to search a particular resource were unclear. It is also difficult to determine when the page was last updated or reviewed.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
This resource offers a concise starting point for public domain research by helping users understand the searching process and licensing. It delivers a high level of usefulness despite its brevity.
Concerns:
This is more of a reference resource than a tutorial. It would not be the first place to learn about the public domain or Creative Commons licensing.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The resource is written in a clear and easy-to-read style with a clean interface that is easy to navigate. For example, it contains a hyperlinked list of contents at the top. The site itself is under Creative Commons licensing, so users can adapt the information for their own educational materials.
Concerns:
There are a few dead links within the material.
Creative Commons:
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