About ImageBank

ImageBank was established in 2003 in response to the need for freely available copyright-cleared images for use in learning and teaching. It was decided to create an online collection of bioscience images that would meet these requirements, and that would source content from within the bioscience community. Initial funding for ImageBank was provided by the Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) Bioscience (later, the Higher Education Academy UK Centre for Bioscience) and the JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee). Following the early pilot ImageBank was funded solely by the Higher Education Academy UK Centre for Bioscience.
The ImageBank collection is specifically aimed at the needs of the bioscience learning and teaching community. ImageBank content covers a wide range of subjects from Agriculture to Zoology and includes images of organisms from all the major taxonomic groups. Many images are accompanied by a short description and for all images at least the species name and common name are given. It has always been a priority that the information presented in ImageBank should be accurate and all images and accompanying information have undergone a thorough editing, cataloguing and validation process by UK Centre for Bioscience staff with substantial subject knowledge. A major strength of ImageBank is the provision of reliable information presented alongside the images; this and the fact that images may be downloaded instantly, free and copyright cleared, sets ImageBank apart from other online image collections.
ImageBank has been developed entirely with image contributions from academics, researchers, Learned Societies, industry and individuals. Over 190 people have donated images to ImageBank. In 2006 we ran a photographic competition, which brought us some fine images, and we have been privileged to host the entries for the University of Leeds Faculty of Biological Sciences annual photographic competition from 2008-2011. Over the years our collection has grown, and we now have over 7700 images in ImageBank. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all our contributors for their generosity in freely sharing their images with us – without them there would be no ImageBank.

We have always sought to meet the needs of the Bioscience community and have therefore welcomed feedback on the usefulness of ImageBank. A feedback form was available on the site and we know from this that ImageBank has been used by lecturers, school teachers, students, researchers and information professionals, and that ImageBank is an important and valued resource for many people. We also have a great deal of anecdotal evidence of the value and widespread use of ImageBank, and it is clear that our users have found ImageBank to be a very helpful resource in developing educational materials.

With the closure of the UK Centre for Bioscience, it became important to find ways for ImageBank to continue as a resource providing images under the same terms as at present – free and copyright-cleared for educational use. We are pleased that ImageBank is now a collection hosted by JISC MediaHub, with the original ideals of free access and copyright clearance maintained. We hope that ImageBank will continue to provide the bioscience community with a resource which is, in the words of one of our users, ‘excellent, valuable, and vital.’

Contributors
We would like to thank all those within the Bioscience community who have generously contributed their images to ImageBank. View contributors.

Would you like to contribute an image?
This ImageBank is now archived (February 2012). Contributions are no longer invited.

Image Copyright
Copyright in the image(s) remains with the original copyright holder e.g. the contributor, or the contributor's employer. The Centre for Bioscience does not hold copyright in the images.

LINKS
We have evaluated and offer links to other bioscience image collections, many with rights cleared for educational purpose. You can search or browse our database of 'other image collections' through our LINKS page.