You can never have too many sources for Clip Art for web and document creation. I have a number of commercial packages on DVD and, of course, there’s always Creative Commons Content – which I got some thoughts about and may blog later on.
Why do you need multiple sources for content? Well, it always seems to me that the “perfect” piece of clipart is so elusive!
To that end, the OCAL (Open Clipart Library) has always been one of my go-to sources. It doesn’t necessarily always have the answer for me but it’s nice to add to the sources that I search when I’m in search of something.
Typically, when I look at a new resource, I start by just doing some random browsing. I find that it gives me a sense of a) the type of content and b) the extent of the content. If I like what I see, I move to the acid test.
My acid test is to search for a few things but one that I always look for is “house”. It’s a simple term for searching but I’m looking for all kinds of houses, styles of houses, and just the volume of content.
So, going to OCAL, I search for “house” and get over 10 pages of results. Nice. The first page includes this:
Nice selection. “Crooked”, “Gingerbread”, “Traditional” – there’s a house for every purpose!
I’ll select one – in this case the “Haunted” House and see what I’ve got.
Like most people, I suspect, I could right click and copy or save the image but there’s plenty that I can do.
Add to selection, choice, and most of all, the hassle-free-ness of the images being usable anywhere with no restrictions? It’s a winner all way around for me and certainly makes the resource very friendly for classroom use.
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.