The free library: public-domain and openly licensed media

The free library brings together media and books you may use, each from the source that publishes it. Every item keeps its source's own page, and every licence is read from the item itself, never from the collection's general terms. The sources:

• Art Institute of Chicago (public-domain artworks): The collection data is CC0 (its description field is CC BY 4.0 and is left out); images of artworks marked public domain may be used freely and hotlinked from the museum's IIIF server.
• OpenStax (the CC BY 4.0 textbooks): Each book version carries its own licence, and new and updated versions are now CC BY-NC-SA; only versions whose own licence is CC BY 4.0 are read (never a NonCommercial one), credited 'Access for free at openstax.org'. The OpenStax name and logo are not covered by the licence.
• Project Gutenberg (the catalogue of books public domain in the USA): Most books are public domain in the USA; status elsewhere differs. Linking needs no permission and links go to each book's landing page. The catalogue is used, never the books' text.
• Wikimedia Commons (pictures, video and sound): Every file carries its own licence; only CC0, public domain, CC BY and CC BY-SA files are kept, each credited with its author, licence and link.
• Internet Archive (films and recordings): Items carry the licence their uploader chose; only items whose own licence URL is CC0, the Public Domain Mark, CC BY or CC BY-SA are kept, and they are linked with their credit.
• Wiktionary (English definitions): Entries are CC BY-SA 4.0 (and GFDL): a definition is quoted with its credit and link, and an adaptation is shared alike.

Ask SW Agent in your own words: "find free pictures of mountains", "public domain paintings of the sea", "a free video of rain" or "free books about astronomy". To look up a word, ask "define tempo" or "what does crescendo mean": SW Agent answers from our docs first and adds the free dictionaries' definitions, each credited.

In Classic or Studio, open the Asset Library and its Free library section to search the same items beside your project. The free assets page has the same search.

• Ask SW Agent
• Free assets

Every card says what you may do with its item:

• Free to use (CC0, the Public Domain Mark or public domain): Free to use in your project; a credit is a courtesy.
• Free with credit (CC BY or CC BY-SA): Free to use with its credit: keep the credit line with your video. A CC BY-SA item is also share-alike: if you change it and share your version, share it under the same licence.
• At its source (a book to read, or a work public domain in the USA only): Read or use it at its source; the credit says where it is from.

Every card shows its credit line (the work, who made it, its licence and where it is from) with Copy credit. When you press Use in this project, the item is added like an upload and its credit is kept with the project on this device. The Export panel then lists Credits for this video, with Copy credits for your video's description or end card. Remove a credit there if you took the item out.

A CC BY or CC BY-SA item may only be used with its credit, so keep the line with your video wherever you post it. A public-domain item needs no credit; giving one is a courtesy to the museum or library that shared it.

Each item is checked on its own, every time it is shown: its licence must be CC0, public domain, CC BY or CC BY-SA. Anything non-commercial (Sonic Weaver carries ads, which counts as commercial use), no-derivatives, GFDL-only, "all rights reserved", unknown or missing is left out, as is a Wikimedia file marked with a trademark or a person's likeness. The label follows from the licence, the credit must name it, and every link must go to the source's own pages.

OpenStax has moved its newer books to a non-commercial licence, so only the book versions whose own licence is CC BY 4.0 are included. Project Gutenberg's catalogue is used, never its books' text, and only books whose own record says public domain in the USA; status in other countries can differ. The Art Institute of Chicago's collection data is CC0; its descriptions are under a different licence and are left out.

A licence is what the item's publisher or uploader states. Wikimedia Commons reviews its files; on the Internet Archive the uploader chooses the licence. Before you use something in a commercial project, open its page and check.

The museum's artworks, OpenStax and Project Gutenberg are searched on our own server. To search Wikimedia Commons, Internet Archive and Wiktionary, your search words are sent from our server, never from your browser, with no account, address or cookie of yours. We do not store or log your searches. Pictures shown on a card load from their source's own servers.

• Privacy policy

The museum, OpenStax, Project Gutenberg, Wikimedia and the Internet Archive are named to credit their work and to say where an item is from. None of them endorses Sonic Weaver, and no logo or cover of theirs is shown. Each source's terms are listed on our licences page.

• Licences and third-party notices