He Internet Archive USC Optical Sound Effects Library is a collection of hundreds of sound effect recordings created for Hollywood studios from the early 1930s through the 1980s. The recordings were donated to USC and have now been digitized for playback and download at the Internet Archive .
He Internet Archive USC Optical Sound Effects Library It has three collections inside. The Gold and Red Libraries are made up of sound effects created in the 1930s and 1940s. The Sunset Publishing Library has recordings of sound effects made from the 1930s through the 1980s.
As you look through the Internet Archive USC Optical Sound Effects Library You’ll find sound effects for things like classic cartoon noises (boing! pow!), sword clash (classic swashbuckler movie sounds), crowd voices, and planes taking off and flying through the sky.
All recordings in the library are short. Some are introduced by a speaker, while others are not. The ones with an intro you could still use if you download the MP3 and then do a quick edit to remove the intro.
Educational Applications
I have long said that the best thing to do to make sure you don’t accidentally infringe copyright is to use your own original audio recordings. When that’s not practical or possible, use audio files that are in the public domain or licensed under a Creative Commons license. The Internet Archive’s USC Optical Sound Effects Library might be a good source of free sound effects for your students’ next video or podcast project.
For more modern sound effects, check out the resources I’ve featured here.
