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You can access a range of free online reference sources which the library subscribes to. The services listed below are available from any public library in Somerset.
If you are a registered library member you can also get free access to most of these services from home using your membership card number.
Please note that Access to Research, Ancestry, BFI Online and the John Johnson Collection can only be accessed in your local library.
Access to Research
Access to Research – Academic articles for free at participating local libraries – Over 8,000 publicly funded scientific research journals available for anyone to read in the library. Subjects include art, architecture, business, engineering, history, languages, politics, philosophy, mathematics and the sciences. (Free access available in all libraries)
Ancestry Library
Ancestry Library Edition – the leading online resource for family history research with thousands of sources of information of interest to family history researchers, with more than 1.5 billion names in over 4,000 collections.
It includes UK census records for 1841 to 1911 with images of the original records, birth, marriage and death indexes, UK and Ireland parish and probate records from the 1500s to the 1800s, and extensive US and other international sources. (Free access available in all libraries)
BFI Screenonline
BFI ScreenOnline – An online encyclopaedia of British film and television with video clips, interviews, articles, stills and posters. (Free access available in all libraries)
Encyclopedia Britannica
Britannica – this online version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica including the complete encyclopaedia as well as Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, the Britannica Book of the Year and an Internet directory. (Free access available in all libraries)
Britannica Junior for 5 to 11 year olds
Britannica Student for 12 to 18 year olds
COBRA - Complete Business Reference Adviser
The Complete Business Reference Adviser offers opportunity profiles on specific trades or jobs, how-to guides, reports, checklists and fact sheets. It provides tools for tackling crucial aspects of business, including: compliance with rules and regulations, finding new customers, and business planning. (Free home access available with membership card number and in all libraries)
Oxford Dictionaries
Oxford English Dictionary – The historical English dictionary. An unsurpassed guide for researchers in any discipline to the meaning, history, and usage of over 500,000 words and phrases across the English-speaking world.
Who Else Writes Like...?
Who Else Writes Like…? A readers’ guide to fiction authors is an established reference web resource and reading promotion tool. It is designed to help anyone who enjoys reading fiction to expand the number of writers they read.
Librarians and English teachers will find this online resource invaluable for encouraging their members and students to read and to try different authors.
With the click of a mouse users can browse by genre or go straight to an author of interest, check up on characters and series or the latest prize-winning writers, and follow the links to authors’ websites for additional information.
Who Next...?
When children ask: “Who can I read next?” or “Who writes like my favourite author?”, the answers are here in Who Next…? A guide to children’s authors
Writers of children’s fiction are listed with suggestions of other authors who write in a similar way, together with key book and series titles.