Public Domain Media & Content: Public Domain Cartographic Materials

DPLA provides a discovery layer to find digitized primary sources from libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions throughout the U.S. It includes a mix of public domain and Creative Commons licensed works, as well as works fully restricted by copyright. Check the Rights Information on each item record to confirm copyright status. Use the "How Can I Use It?" section of search filters to limit your searches to just works licensed by Creative Commons or in the public domain.

The Getty provides access to more than 160,000 images of digitized artwork from its collections that are in the public domain. This includes photos, paintings, drawings, maps, text and manuscripts, and other artifacts.

Google Books provides full-text access to more than 10 million books in the public domain. This search tool limits results to just public domain works. Check these publications for photos, illustrations, maps, etc.

HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of digitized publications from libraries and archives around the world. It includes many public domain and open access works, which are available to the public. Access to collections still under copyright are restricted to only certain libraries. Many of these publications include photos, illustrations, and maps.

The Internet Archive provides free access to millions of digitized books, images (photos, illustrations, cover art, maps, etc.), texts, audio recordings, videos, and software programs from around the world. Check the Rights field on each item record to identify public domain and Creative Commons-licensed works.

The digital collections comprise millions of items including books, newspapers, manuscripts, prints and photos, maps, musical scores, films, sound recordings and more. Many items are in the public domain. Check the Rights statement on each collection page and catalog item record.

This portal provides access to a subset of LOC digital collections that are in the public domain, have no known copyright, or have been cleared by the copyright holder for public use. This includes books, newspapers, manuscripts, prints and photos, maps, musical scores, films, sound recordings and more.

NLM digital collections include public domain images, video, audio, maps, and text.

NYPL's Digital Collections includes over 300,000 public domain still images, textual works, cartographic materials, notated music, and digital images of 3D artifacts. This link filters specifically on public domain materials in the collection.

NYPL's Digital Collections includes over 300,000 public domain still images, textual works, cartographic materials, notated music, and digital images of 3D artifacts. This link filters specifically on public domain materials in the collection.

This site provides access to georeferenced historical maps for the state of Texas, such as Sanborn Maps. Use the "Place" filter in the left sidebar to filter by locality name. These GeoTIFF maps are in the public domain and are free to download and use.

This digital archive provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) includes digitized and georeferenced digital topographic maps created by the USGS dating back to 1880. These maps are in the public domain and free to download and use.

Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository of free images (photos, illustrations, maps, etc.), videos, sounds and other multimedia files. All content is Creative Commons licensed, GNU Free Documentation licensed, or in public domain. Check the Licensing field on each item.