Gettin’ Giphy With It: NARA Shares Online Library of Animated Gifs

Sep 23, 2016

Hi there, DigitalGov!

Animated gif of a woman with the word, Hi, written on her hand.

Have you looked in vain for quality animated GIFs from a reputable source?

Animated gif of a woman searching in a library.

Have your searches left you annoyed and frustrated because you can’t find a GIF with properly attributed and sourced content?

Animated gif of a woman sighing.

Wondering what you can do and where to look?

Animated gif of a cartoon character watching a pot on a stove.

Come on over to the new Giphy channel from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)!

Animated gif of old, black and white footage cars passing on the street outside government building.

We’ve opened our vault to reveal dozens of animated GIFs ready to share and use. All of our GIFs link back to the original National Archives catalog records, so you know you’re getting the real deal.

Animated gif of doors opening.

So whether you just want to pop in and say hi

Animated gif of three women popping out of hat boxes.

or are looking to explore our growing collection of GIFs

Animated gif of an astronaut during a space walk above Earth.

we’re excited to share them with you!

Animated gif of a dancing sailor.

So run, don’t walk, to the National Archives channel on Giphy!

Animated gif of people running a race.

Come find animated history of all flavors including major historic events, celebrities, National Parks, newsreels, animated patents, dancing sailors, and more from the holdings of the U.S. National Archives. You can use our holdings to create or share animated GIFs to communicate a reaction, offer a visual explanation, or even create your own works of art!

You can even access our GIFs directly from Twitter! Just tap or click the GIF button in the Twitter tool bar

Twitter GIF button/icon.

search for ArchivesGIF, and all of our GIFs will appear for you to share in your tweet!

Animated gif of patrons cheering and toasting each other in a bar.

If you want to join the fun, take a look at NARA’s Terms of Service Agreement with Giphy (PDF, 297 KB, 1 page). They’re interested in working with agencies one-on-one, so if your office can’t wait to get started, email Partnerships at giphy.com and cc: Lusan Green to get your paperwork in order. For more information on our Agency-specific TOS, please contact NARA’s Social Media team via email.

Animated gif of a man reading a letter.

And don’t forget to check us out regularly; there are more GIFs to come!

Animated gif of a computer and blinking sign on the word, Go.

If creating animated GIFs are up your creative alley, check out the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) annual GIF IT UP challenge! Submissions will be accepted starting October 1.

Want to learn more about making GIFs? Join us for a GIF-making workshop, hosted by Darren Cole of the National Archives’ Today’s Document, and Richard Naples of the Smithsonian Libraries. Sponsored by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), the workshop is on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, at 3:00 pm.

In 2018, Cole and Naples did an hour-long follow-up workshop with DPLA, Advanced GIF-Making Techniques, that can be watched either on their workshops page, or on YouTube.

Cheers!

Animated gif of a man drinking wine.

Disclaimer: All references to specific brands, products, and/or companies are used only for illustrative purposes and do not imply endorsement by the U.S. federal government or any federal government agency.

Sep 23, 2016