Open Educational Resources, Open Access, Creative Commons and Public Domain
Open Educational Resources, or OER, are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse at no cost. Unlike fixed, copyrighted materials, OER have been authored and created with the intention of retain few, if any, ownership rights.
In general, you are able to download a resource, edit in some way and re-post it as a remixed work. OER typically have a Creative Commons license which indicates how the material can be used.
An OER can be a Textbook, Tutorial, Video, Quiz, Syllabus and more!
Visit our Open Education Research Guide for more information.
Open Access is the free, unrestricted access to digital materials, such as research articles and software. In addition, rights are granted to use the content freely in the digital environment. It also describes a type of publishing model that makes research and journal articles freely available. You may see some articles flagged as "Open Access" when searching the Library's "Search Everything" tool. These articles are free to use for anybody.
Creative Commons is a type of licensing that allows for certain rights to use a work (e.g., modify, share, etc.) under certain conditions (e.g., for non-commercial use only, only if the resulting work is similarly shared, etc.). The creator specifies how their work can be used by applying the license of their choice. In some cases, Creative Commons-licensed materials can be freely used, shared or modified. Always check the license to see what is required in order to use the work. For example, you may be required to give credit to the creator, to share the resulting work in the same way or may not be able to use the work for commercial purposes.
Rather than locking down a work, as Copyright automatically does, Creative Commons licensing allows the copyright owner to choose how the work is used!
Public Domain works are works whose copyright has expired and so people are free to use, share, modify, copy, or adapt these works.
- As of December 30, 2022, works enter the public domain in Canada 70 years after the author’s death on January 1st of the year following the expiration of the copyright
- Before December 30, 2022, works entered the public domain in Canada 50 years after the death of the author and remain in the public domain, despite the change.
- Note that if a work in the public domain is modified into a new work, the modified work is protected by copyright. For example, if an artist modifies a photograph in the public domain, thereby creating a new work, that new work is protected under copyright. Also, sometimes parts of a public domain work may still be protected by copyright, for example, a drawing within a novel. For these reasons, it can be complicated to determine if a work is in the public domain; please reach out to the Library if you are unsure how you can legally use a work.
Public Domain Images
- Flickr: Creative CommonsMany Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license.
- Google Advanced Image SearchUnder "usage rights", select the license terms you want to search for.
- OpenVerseSearch for images, streaming videos, and media files from different collections including Flickr and YouTube. Can select the license type you want to search for.
- WikiMedia CommonsCopy, use and modify files freely from WikiMedia Commons
- AllGo's Plus Size Stock PhotosA great collection of photos of plus-size individuals. It is recommended to credit AllGo and photographer Michael Poley of Poley Creative.
- Disabled and Here CollectionCollection of photos and illustrations celebrating BIPOC people with disabilities.
- KaboompicsPhotographs can be used for personal or commercial projects. However, they cannot be used for sale on their own. Check the terms for restrictions.
- MorgueFileFree high resolution digital stock photography for either corporate or public use.
- NappyNappy's mission is to "provide high-res photos of black and brown people" and helps designers and companies to be "purposeful about representation in their designs, presentations, and advertisements."
- PexelsA vast collection of high-quality, royalty free, images for both creative and commercial use. All images have a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, so no attribution is necessary when using the images.
- PixabayOver 1,188,454 free photos, illustrations, vectors and videos.
- UnsplashPhotos that have been released for free use. Attribution is not required but is appreciated
- VecteezyFree vector art, stock photos and stock videos. Attribution is required.
- The Noun ProjectCreative Commons licensed black & white icons. Free and paid premium memberships are available.
- Open Clip ArtClip art and icons.
- Open PeepsThis hand-drawn illustration collection works like building blocks made of vector faces, bodies, arms, legs, clothing, hairstyles, etc. You can mix the elements to create different characters.
- Public Domain Vectors60,000 vector images in public domain.