Did you know that you have access to an entire reference library from your computer? Shropshire Libraries provides an Online Reference Library giving you a wealth of information for free, and previously only available in large town and city libraries. The service includes a large number of electronic reference books, encyclopaedias, biographies and newspapers bought on subscription and made available to anyone who is a member of the library.
Follow the link on this page to login to the Online Reference Library. You will need to sign in to your account. If you do not have an account and need to join the library, you can do this from the link on the same page.
All this without having to move from your desk, at home or at work!
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is a publishing phenomenon. Over 55,000 lives encompassing the great, good, not so good and frankly bad who have made their mark on British history. The online version is far more than an alphabetical list of people’s names. You can search by field of interest, location, date of birth, date of death or any combination of these. There are theme listings too which are ideal for research or browsing. It is updated three times a year. One thing to remember is that no living people are included.
Ancestry
Essential for family history research. With AncestryLibrary you can access over 700 million searchable names including the censuses from 1841 to 1901, birth, marriage and death records and passenger lists. New information is constantly added.
Please note that AncestryLibrary is only available in libraries.
Ancestry.co.uk can be accessed at home but charges may apply for some information.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Simply type in a keyword and 73,000+ articles are sifted for you. Do you need information for your eight year old’s school project? There is an junior version designed for primary school age as well as a student version for older children. If you enjoy browsing, try This Day in History or Britannica Highlights, both useful for the local pub quiz. There are links to video clips and journal articles too.
OED Online
The Oxford English Dictionary is the definitive record of the English language. Hundreds of new entries are added every year. You can search for a word as a main entry or even as part of a definition of another word or in a quotation.
Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection
Oxford Reference Online gives access to masses of information you would previously not see, except by visiting a large reference library, covering subjects from Art to Zoology. You can search individual books, or the whole collection at once. Each book has links to selected websites to complement its content. Timelines show dates of notable events by subject area, such as performing arts, politics or science.
Oxford Music Online
Formerly known as Grove Music Online, this is the premier authority on all aspects of music containing the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, plus the Oxford Dictionary of Music and the Oxford Companion to Music.
Oxford Art Online
This is an improved and expanded version of Grove Art Online, which also includes The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.
UK Newsstand with magazines
Access to all the major newspapers plus many regional papers. UK Newsstand also includes a selection of magazines covering a wide variety of subjects. You can search for subjects, or for a particular newspaper or writer.
Times Digital Archive
Covering 200 years of history from 1785 to 1985 as reported in The Times newspaper. You can search for names, events, images and even advertisements, or simply browse the pages in their original format.
Theory Test Pro
Everything needed to pass the latest driving theory driving test. The entire official question bank, hazard perception, video clips and an online version of the Highway Code. You will need to register with an email address when using it for the first time.
Further information
Need more help? Use that other keypad, on your telephone, to speak to library staff, who will be happy to guide you to the information or resources you need, or send an email.