Recently, the New York Public Library made an online archive of 275,000 images available to the public at no cost. Called the NYPL Digital Gallery, the project is supported by a $7 million grant from Atlantic Philanthropies. It provides access to images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, and illustrated books.
You can search the database using criteria such as category, description, and author's name. Images in the collection are either in the public domain or are owned by the library and can be downloaded and used for noncommercial purposes. In the coming months, the library plans to add an additional 225,000 images that have already been digitized. This project is unrelated to The New York Public Library's arrangement with Google to digitize content. (See also the article about Google's plan and Stanford's participation in the January 12 issue of this newsletter.)
