Finding Images: Pictures of People, Places and Things

Contents

Pictures in Books

Library catalogs are a great source for finding pictures. Two that you can use are:

Collections of photographs or images: keyword searches

Books that are collections of photographs or images add the subheading "Pictorial works" to the subject. In the library catalogs, do a keyword search for your subject and add the words "pictorial works." Use quotation marks around phrases and "and" to connect the words.

Example: barns and "pictorial works" or "Oregon trail" and "pictorial works"

For pictures of people, use "portraits"

Example: "Abraham Lincoln" and portraits; artists and portraits

Illustrations in "regular" books: browsing

The simplest way to find a book with pictures is use the catalog to find books on your subject write down the call numbers and then go to the area where they're shelved. Since the call number represents a subject, you should find more books on the same topic. Look through them for pictures.

Stock Photography Catalogs : TR690.6 (1st floor)
Collections of photographs of people, places and things. These are thumbnail images of photographs that can be ordered from the producer.

Indexes to photographs and other pictures

These indexes will point you to sources for pictures and photographs.

  • Photography books index II : a subject guide to photo anthologies.
    Reference TR199 .M67 1985
  • Photography index : a guide to reproductions
    Reference TR199 .P37
  • Picture researcher's handbook : an international guide to picture sources and how to use them.
    N4000 .E8 1992 (5th floor)
  • Index to illustrations of animals and plants
    Reference QL46 .C541 1991

Pictures in Magazines

There are a couple of indexes you can use to find pictures in heavily-illustrated magazines. The indexes tell you which magazine, the date, and the page number where the picture appears.

Illustration Index : the BEST source for pictures of people, places, and things. Reference N 7525 .V3 (7 volumes, covering different time periods)

  • Indexes pictures in American Heritage, Gourmet, Life, National Geographic, National Wildlife, Natural History, Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, Travel & Leisure, Travel/Holiday . List of magazines at the front of each volume gives OSU call number.
  • Citation includes date, page, size of picture, whether or not it's in color. Use the "User Guide" at the front if you need help interpreting the citation.
  • This is a great resource. Here are some examples of the topics: crayons, boars (wild), locker rooms, blizzards, Zurich, Charlie Parker… …

National Geographic Index . G1 .N2
Index to photographs in National Geographic.

EbscoHost article databases:
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/research.php/db.php?arg=E
Includes links to an image database of people, places, natural science, historical topics, maps and flags. Of limited value.

Images on the Web

  • Picture History
  • Images and footage illustrating more than 200 years of American history
  • Time-Life Pictures
    Photographs and other images from Time,Inc. magazines and the Mansell Collection of historical images. Although the images can be viewed free of charge, registration is required and all images are copyrighted.

Image Search engines:

Please be aware of copyright restrictions on the use of images. Boston University Libraries has put together a very useful webpage on Image Copyright: http://www.bu.edu/library/instruction/findimages/copyright.html

Compiled by Loretta Rielly
Humanities/Social Sciences Librarian
Loretta.Rielly@oregonstate.edu