Open Access databases, forums, and resources allow scholarly, peer-reviewed, content to be freely accessible to the public! OA sites can provide unique access to research with direct applications to current practices, methodologies, and policies.
Remember to always cite scholarly materials. Open Access does not mean public domain. There are different copyright and use requirements for certain Open Access materials. Read carefully and cite appropriately! Check back to the Writing Resources for help on citing sources!
If you'd like to share any additional OA resources you have found helpful, feel free to share a link with the Art & Architecture Librarian, mackenzie.williams@cooper.edu
Archnet is an Open Access, intellectual resource focused on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, conservation issues, visual and material cultures, and other topics related to the built environment. With a focus on societies in which Muslims are or have been a significant cultural presence, Archnet’s mission is to provide ready access to quality, unique texts and media that facilitate excellence in teaching, scholarship, and professional work.
The New York City Municipal Archives Online Gallery of over 1.6 million images. Selected from the world-class historical collections of the Archives, most of these unique photographs, maps, documents, motion pictures, and audio recordings are being made accessible for the first time. The gallery includes many complete collections; for others, only representative samples are currently on display.
Download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. With new platforms and tools, you have easier access to more than 4.4 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections—with many more to come. This includes images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.
Founded in 1996, UbuWeb is a pirate shadow library consisting of hundreds of thousands of freely downloadable avant-garde artifacts. By the letter of the law, the site is questionable; openly violating copyright norms and almost never asking for permission.
Urbanitarian is an independent online library of resources for professionals, government bodies, practitioners, academics, community organizers, planners, architects, urbanists, and urban designers interested in shaping the built environment.
