Online resources available at your library

Find out about the range of online resources you can access from home and your library.

Our libraries hold a vast array of online resources to help with everything from starting a business and researching your family history to choosing a household appliance and taking your driving theory test.

Most of these resources can be accessed from home, however there are some which you need to access from a library ­- look out for this in the description.

Access to Research

Access to Research. Access many of the world’s best academic papers from leading publishers who have made their journal content available for free. Some article may only be available by viewing from a computer in our libraries (except Embsay-with-Eastby and Mashamshire community libraries).

Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com AncestryLibrary: This site helps bring your backstory to life. Explore records and build your family tree. This resource needs to be used in a library.

British Library newspapers

British Library Newspapers Basic Search: This full-text, fully searchable digital archive currently includes papers originating in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, carefully selected by an editorial board from the British Library and providing a broad yet detailed view of British life in the 19th century.

British newspaper archive

British Newspaper Archive: Access hundreds of historic newspapers from all over Britain and Ireland. You can search hundreds of millions of articles by keyword, name, location, date or title. This resource is only available via computers in our local libraries - except for Embsay-with-Eastby and Mashamshire community libraries.

The Complete Business Reference Advisor

The complete business reference advisor: If you are thinking of starting a business, the complete business reference advisor has all the information you need to turn your idea into a reality. Library members can find more than 4,000 factsheets, market reports, contacts and sources of funding and support, plus hundreds of practical guides to starting up more than 350 types of business.

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Encyclopaedia Britannica is a resource for everyone aged from five to adult:

  • junior  - for ages five to 11: Get homework help and find information about people, browse timelines, and compare countries. The encyclopaedia covers most school subjects and has links to the CBBC news website
  • student - for ages 12 to 18: View featured spotlights, search biographies and important events, find out what happened on different days and years, select your own birthday or other dates you want to explore and find out how to use the workspace to store information for topics and research
  • for ages 18-plus: Since 1768 Encyclopaedia Britannica has been the world's most famous and authoritative source of information and is one of the most trusted sources of information on almost every topic imaginable

Find My Past

Find My Past: Trace your ancestry and build a family tree by researching extensive birth records, census data, and obituaries. This resource needs to be used in a library.

Go Citizen

Go Citizen. An online study resource for candidates preparing for the Life in the UK test or British citizenship test.

GreenFILE

GreenFILE. GreenFILE is a free research database covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.

Grove Art Online

Grove Art Online: The unsurpassed authority on all aspects of the visual arts.

Grove Music Online

Grove Music Online: Comprehensive coverage of music, musicians, music-making, and music scholarship.

Life in the UK

Life in the UK: This course helps prepare all applicants to take the British citizenship test.

NewsBank

NewsBank: This comprehensive news collection is ideal for exploring issues and events at the local, regional, national and international level. Its diverse source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts and videos.

Oxford dictionaries

  • Oxford Dictionaries: A range of online dictionaries including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and Portuguese
  • Oxford English Dictionary: A historical dictionary that forms a record of all the core words and meanings in English from over more than 1,000 years, from Old English to the present day. It also includes obsolete and historical terms
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Over 60,000 biographies, 72 million words, 11,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history
  • Oxford Reference: Oxford Reference's millions of entries, many of which are illustrated, provide in-depth, specialized content from Oxford University Press encyclopedias and companions.

Theory Test Pro

Theory Test Pro: A highly realistic online simulation of the UK's driving theory tests for all vehicle categories. It contains all the official test questions licensed from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - the people who set the tests.

Which?

Which?: Access to reports, buying guides and Which? magazine's recent research. This resource can only be used in libraries. Ask a member of staff to log you in.

Who else writes like …?

Who else writes like...?: A readers’ guide to fiction authors, designed to answer the perennial question, "I've read all the books by this author, who else writes like that?"

Who next…?

Who next…?: A guide to children’s authors for children who have already enjoyed stories by one writer to find other books by similar authors.

Who’s Who and Who Was Who

Who's Who and Who Was Who: Who's Who is the definitive current biographical directory of the most influential figures in British public life, as well as leading international figures. Who Was Who is the full archive of former entries from Who's Who, dating back to 1897.

We also offer a wide range of free e-audio books and e- books.