National Archives
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Worldbuilding source archive
Where can I find cultural and geographic references for a consistent fictional world?
This is a curated first release, not an exhaustive industry census. State and city filters show places explicitly supported by the source; national entries remain national. Dates are check dates, not publication dates.
15resources
11U.S. resources
3government sources
0public tools
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Last checked 2026-10-01 · Live page checked
National Endowment for the Humanities
Find humanities program and educational resources.
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American Folklore Society
Find folklore scholarship and professional resources.
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Getty Research Institute
Use art-historical research resources and check reuse permissions.
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Project Gutenberg
Read public-domain texts; confirm copyright status in your jurisdiction.
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Smithsonian Open Access
Find open-access collection items and check the item's own reuse terms.
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Society for Creative Anachronism
Find historical recreation community and craft resources.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection
Research art records and distinguish public-domain assets from other images.
Worldbuilding source archive: Record item identifiers, provenance and item-specific rights before reusing an image or text.
U.S. Copyright Office
Find copyright registration and official circulars.
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International Game Developers Association
Find game-development professional resources.
Worldbuilding source archive: Use professional guidance to structure questions; membership is not proof of an individual provider’s quality.
Harvard Art Museums collections
Use museum collection records for provenance research.
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Royal Ontario Museum
Find art and cultural collection research resources.
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Canadian Museum of History
Research cultural history and museum collections.
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Blender manual
Read the open-source 3D creation manual.
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Godot documentation
Read the open-source game engine's official documentation.
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