Digital Collections - About

Brooklyn Public Library's online catalog offers a selection of more than 20,000 historical photographs from the Brooklyn Collection and audio and video recordings created by the Brooklyn Public library and other sources. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Photograph Collection (c. 1900-1955) is the source of many of these images, documenting change and development in Brooklyn throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Major subjects of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs include bridges, churches, Coney Island, neighborhoods, parks, schools and the Eagle itself.

The Brooklyn Collection also houses smaller photography collections by commercial and amateur photographers. Ranging from family photographs to images of street life to official municipal photographs, these collections capture a broader range of borough history spanning the 20th century to the present day.

Searching the Collection

You can use the quick search field on our digital collections site to find images. As in Google search you can enter keywords, search terms or a call number to find what you're looking for.

When you enter search terms, file formats, filenames, metadata fields and collections are all searched.

Downloading Images

Users are free to download the available lower resolution images for personal use, simply click on the download tab. Images will download as jpg format with 600 pixels on the largest dimension.

For higher resolution images use the purchase or request button that is available on all images that can be licensed by the Brooklyn Public Library. For images that do not have a purchase or request button, please contact us

Digital Public Library of America

Some items in our Digital Collections are represented in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). DPLA is a portal that offers access to public domain and openly licensed content held by the United States' archives, libraries, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions.

Purchase a Photo

Digital images from the Brooklyn Collection are available for purchase. Review the fee schedule and submit your order by clicking on the green submit your order link.

Permissions

Copyright status of each item is listed in the individual record. Not every item has been formally reviewed for copyright status. For unmarked items, we do not grant or deny permission for reuse. You may want to look into resources that can help you determine whether the items are in the public domain and free of copyright restrictions.

In requesting a copy of the photographs above, the undersigned assumes all responsibility for any copyright infringement that may arise through the use of the requested copies and agrees to hold harmless the Brooklyn Public Library from any action involving infringement of the rights of an author or his or her heirs or descendants in common law or under statutory copyright. Brooklyn Public Library holds or manages copyright for some items. If you need information about reproducing these items, please contact the Brooklyn Public Library.

Citing Our Material

Please use the language in the "cite as" note in the item's record to credit photographs from the Brooklyn Collection.

Contact

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please contact us.