Library information and online resources

Access Global NewsBank 2021 provides a comprehensive collection of reliable news sources covering a wide array of topics and issues. Includes lesson plans, special reports and hot topics.

American National Biography Online features over 19,000 biographies of significant, influential or notorious figures from American history written by prominent scholars.

Access American National Biography Online from home using your library card.  Enter NOR before the number when prompted (with no spaces).

For access from home (with a library card), use these links:

• Britannica Junior
• Britannica Student
• Britannica Adult

Gales News and Reference collection gives access to:

• Infotrac Newsstand - a collection of current and UK worldwide newspapers
• General OneFile - an archive of journal articles

Access the database from home by typing your library card number in the box where it says 'password', when asked.

GRANTfinder. Information on grants, loans and awards from local, regional and national sources, including UK government and European funding, charitable trusts and corporate sponsors.

To use this database from home, please contact bipcnorfolk@norfolk.gov.uk for a login which allows you 24 hours access.

To use this database in the library, please ask a member of staff to log you in.

Register on Grants 4 Norfolk to access their database of funding opportunities, news and advice for businesses and communities.

Kompass Easy Business is a premium B2B resource containing information on over 43 million companies across 71 countries worldwide. Here you can locate more than 50,000 different product and service categories. Searching more than 700.000 trademarks and brand names, in 26 languages.

The Life in the UK website will help you with the application process for British citizenship or permanent residency.  The online course is based on the 'Life in the United Kingdom: Guide for New Residents' (third edition) handbook , published by the Home Office.

Practice material is available in multiple languages

• Oxford Dictionaries - English – offers quick search access to definitions of words, phrases, and idioms, with expert guidance on style and usage, grammar, and spelling; plus specialist guides for legal and technical writing. Access Oxford Dictionaries from home using your library card. Enter NOR before the number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford English Dictionary Online – widely acknowledged as being the most authoritative and comprehensive dictionary of English in the world.  Access the OED from home using your library card. Enter NOR before the number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford Reference Online – fast access to information on every subject from Art to Zoology using over 175 different reference works in one database. Access Oxford Reference Online from home by typing in your library card number when asked. Enter NOR before your number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – An illustrated collection of 56,000 specially written biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC.  The dictionary does not include any living people.  Access from home by typing your library card number when asked.  Enter NOR before the number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford Bibliographies is a series of intuitive and easy-to-use “ultimate reading lists”, designed to help users navigate vast seas of information. Currently covers Victorian Literature and British and Irish literature. Access these from home by typing in your library card number when asked. Enter NOR before your number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland – The ultimate reference work on family names of the UK, covering English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, and immigrant surnames.  It includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers, and those that had more than 20 bearers in the 1881 census.  Access from home by typing in your library card number when asked.  Enter NOR before your number when prompted (with no spaces).

Access thousands of newspapers and magazines online (UK and worldwide coverage). Titles include The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, Le Figaro, The Washington Post, the EDP Norfolk Magazine, and The Beano. Sign up for free with your library card number and PIN via the PressReader website or app (download from your App Store). You can increase text size, translate into 17 languages or listen with the read aloud function.

Accessing The Economist magazine online from 1 February

New requirements by The Economist restrict readers who borrow a title to a maximum 24-hour lending period. If you want to continue reading the same issue after 24 hours you will have to visit the library to renew access.

You may wish to turn off the auto-download feature for this title, and only borrow at the time you want to read each issue. 

The complete digital edition of The Times (London). Use keyword searching to retrieve full facsimile images of either a specific article or a complete page. Access the database from home by typing your library card number in the box where it says 'password' when asked.

19th Century British Library Newspapers contains full runs of 48 mainly regional and some national newspapers.  Covers England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Access the database from home by typing your library card number in the box below where it says 'please enter your library barcode' when asked. 

Access Global NewsBank 2021 provides a comprehensive collection of reliable news sources covering a wide array of topics and issues. Includes lesson plans, special reports and hot topics.

Free access in any Norfolk library to academic research. More than 15 million articles, including in-depth information on topics such as art, architecture, business, engineering, history, languages, politics, philosophy, mathematics and the sciences.

The British Newspaper Archive contains millions of pages of historical newspapers from the British Library collection searchable by keyword, name, location, date or title. You will need to register (for free) to use this service.

BSOL is a simple online standard management tool that provides full text viewing and access to the current, draft and withdrawn British Standards.

You can also stay up-to-date with the progress of standards that affect your industry at the BSI Standards Development website.

Available at Norfolk & Norwich Millennium, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Thetford, Wroxham and Wymondham libraries.

COBRA (Complete Business Reference Adviser) gives you access to information covering all aspects of starting up and running a business.

EMIS - Emerging Markets

Analysis, data and news on companies, industries and countries; with a focus on emerging markets.

Click on the 'Client login' box in the top right-hand corner to access the database.

FAME gives access to a wide range of high quality information covering companies, news, directors and industry research.

Available at the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library only. Please note that FAME will not be available during Open Library sessions as it requires staff to log you in.

For information on our pay-for company listings in Excel format, contact us on bipcnorfolk@norfolk.gov.uk.

Findmypast is a British-owned online genealogy resource, offering databases containing over four billion records, many of which are only available online here.

In addition to Civil Registration and Census records, you’ll find an ever-growing collection of UK parish records, as well as British military records relating to the Army, Royal Navy and Air Force. Other useful collections include Merchant Navy Seamen’s records and the largest collection of Irish records available online. There’s also a range of records from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada.

When accessing 1921 Census records on FindMyPast you may see a message asking to ‘Buy this transcript or subscribe for unlimited access.’ This message is in error and records can be viewed free of charge through Norfolk Libraries’ subscription. The site will not ask users to enter any payment details.

IBISWorld is a simple to use market research tool and holds a comprehensive collection of UK Industry Market Research reports and Industry Risk Ratings.

Available at Norwich Millennium Library (Business and IP Centre), Cromer, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Thetford, Wroxham and Wymondham libraries. Please note that IBISWorld will not be available during Open Library sessions as it requires staff to log you in.

 

Innovation DB is a database of innovative technologies developed by academic and private commercial research laboratories working in all fields of science and technology.

The database gives manufacturers, R&D departments, venture capitalists, and private equity funds an invaluable tool with which to find relevant technologies, exciting opportunities, and perfect-match innovation partners.

Please ask a member of staff to log you in.

Kompass EasyBusiness is a premium B2B resource containing information on over 43 million companies across 71 countries worldwide. Here you can locate more than 50,000 different product and service categories. Searching more than 700.000 trademarks and brand names, in 26 languages.

Local Data Online provides local information on towns, cities and high streets across the UK, with a special emphasis on retail and leisure. You can use Local Data Online to see location overviews, demographic data, occupancy rates and much more. Local Data Online will give you a detailed picture of your local market.

To use this database, ask a member of staff to log you in.

Mintel is an internationally recognised specialist in market intelligence. The database is a rich and deep source of market research, publishing hundreds of detailed reports each year including insights, trend drivers and analysis.

Available at the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, Great Yarmouth Library and King’s Lynn Library only.

Statista specialises in market and consumer data, its platform contains more than 1,000,000 statistics on more than 80,000 topics from more than 22,500 sources and 170 different industries.

Please ask a member of staff to log you in.

Which? – Access to Which consumer reports, reviews and advice.  Please note that Which will not be available during Open Library sessions as it requires staff to log you in.