LibGuides: Image Resources: Science Images

Sea Snails, Periwinkles, Drills, & Borers (NOAA)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Plate 254: Sea Snails, Periwinkles, Drills, and Borers. ImageID: figb0525, NOAA's Historic Fisheries Collection. Retrieved from http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/bigs/figb0525.jpg. Reproduced from Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals: Shellfish and Miscellaneous Sea Creatures.

Science Image Meta Sites

Science.Gov MetaSearch
Uses metadata provided by government agencies to search images across NASA, NOAA, the NSF, the USDA Plant Image Gallery, and the USGS. More agencies are scheduled to be added.
Digital Images Collection Guide (American Library Association)
This overwhelmingly comprehensive guide, created by subject librarians and sponsored by the American Library Association, features thousands of image sites that users can browse by subject. Collections include those on disciplines such as astronomy, physics, geography, oceanography, biology, engineering, animal science, fisheries, forestry, veterinary science, and many more.

Science Images

Have a favorite science image site? Contact Kristin Henrich using the information at right to see it added here. In search of images in disciplines not listed below? Check out the American Library Assocation's Digital Image Collections Guide for images categorized by field of study.

Agricultural Research Service: Image Gallery
Features public domain and complementary images, grouped by topics such as animals, crops, education, field research, fruits and veggies, illustrations, insects, lab research, and plants. Users can also search by keyword. Made available through the USDA.
AnatQuest: Anatomic Images Online
Sponsored by the United States National Library of Medicine's Visible Human Project, this site features high resolution cross-sections and cut-away views of the human anatomy.
Animal Science Image Gallery
A joint project between the USDA's National Agricultural Library and the American Society of Animal Science, this image bank allows users to search by keyword or browse by subjects such as beef cattle, companion animals, genetics, poultry, nutrition, and ethology.
Emilio Segre Visual Archives
Created by the Niels Bohr Library of the American Institute of Physics, the archives contain over 7,000 images, lithographs, and documents from the archives of 20th century physicists and astronomers.
Entomology Index of Internet Resources
Held at the University of Iowa, this directory of online insect image banks can be sorted alphabetically, taxonomically, or by entomological subdiscipline. Users can also search by keyword.
Historic American Engineering Record
Features digitized drawings, plans, large-format photographs, and written histories of achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design. Users can browse the online collection on the left by creator, subject, or geography. Be sure to check rights & permissions.
Images from the History of Medicine (IHM)
This image bank "provides access to nearly 70,000 images in the collections of the History of Medicine Division (HMD) of the U.S National Library of Medicine (NLM). The collection includes portraits, photographs, caricatures, genre scenes, posters, and graphic art illustrating the social and historical aspects of medicine dated from the 15th to 21st century." Use limiters on left to narrow, or simply type keywords into search box on top right.
NASA Images
Online archive featuring over 100,000 NASA images.
NOAA Photo Library
Includes images of weather, space, coastlines, marine species and seas as taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Perry Castaneda Map Collection @ UT Austin
Contains over 50,000 digital maps, including thematic, topographic, historical, oceanic, and topical maps.
Pictures of Science:700 Years of Scientific and Medical Illustration
Features images in disciplines of astronomy, chemistry, geology, mathematics, medicine, and physics, as taken from the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery, and includes images ranging from the twelfth to the early twentieth centuries.
Plants Image Database
Sponsored by the USDA's National Resources Conservation Services, this image bank allows users to search for images by native status, wetland status, state and province distribution, category, duration, or growth habits. Especially useful is the option to select non-copyrighted images.
Profiles in Science
Features digitized primary documents from leading 20th century scientists and physicians, including lab notes, portraits, correspondence, and much more. Curated by the National Library of Medicine.
Science Photo Library
A for-profit image bank featuring photos in disciplines of healthcare, botany, zoology, space, the environment, and science in technology in general. Be sure to look for images tagged "royalty-free" to avoid fees.
US Government Photos
Contains photographs from many scientific government agencies, including the Center for Disease Control, the Bureau of Land Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Photos, US Fish and Wildlife Services, and the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation. Users can browse by topic or by agency.