Use our free online resources
Library members can use our online resources for free, such as encyclopedias, biographies and academic research. You'll need your library card number to log in to most of these.
About our free online resources
To use most of our free online resources, you'll need to log in with your library card number.
You can use some resources in our libraries only, and some on other devices anywhere you like.
If you're not a member yet, you can find out how to join our libraries.
Business and careers information
Find a large range of business and industry databases to help you start and grow your company including COBRA, Kompass and Mintel.
Daily newspapers and magazines
- PressReader - over 7000 UK and international newspapers and magazines. To access items through the PressReader website, sign in, select Library or group, find your local library and enter your membership number. You can also download the PressReader app.
- NewsBank Stay informed on local, national and international topics, people and events with information from credible, vetted UK and global news sources, including The Times, Financial Times and The Guardian. You can access this from home with your library card or in libraries
Magazines, comics and graphic novels
- RBDigital - Over 150 UK magazines including Vogue, The Economist, BBC History and over 1500 comics and graphic novels including Disney, Marvel, IDW and Dark Horse, and hundreds of eBooks and eAudiobooks
Find out how to borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks.
To access items, register on the RBDigital website, or download the PressReader app.
Access over 3,000 eMagazines and a selection of eComics through the Libby app.
You can read an unlimited amount of these with no waiting lists. Download the Libby App on Android or iOS or for access on a website visit libbyapp.com in your Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge (Chromium) browser.
Historical newspapers
- Times Digital Archive - digital copies of the Times newspaper (London) from 1785 to 2014, on the Gale Databases website
- British Newspaper Archive - Local regional newspapers from Britain and Ireland dating from 1603, access in libraries only, you can make a free account and save your searches
Classical music concerts, ballet and operas
- Medici.tv - watch free recordings of live concerts, follow the link, click 'log in' on the top right-hand corner of the page, select 'Brighton & Hove Libraries' and enter your library membership number and click 'go'
Academic research and resources
- Access to Research - academic articles about various topics including art, history, politics and science, access in libraries only
- The New Oxford Shakespeare - all Shakespeare's works, in old English and modern text, including comparisons
Biographies
- The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - over 60,000 biographies of people who shaped UK and Irish history until 2012 - no living person is included
- Who's who - directory of influential people in the UK and worldwide, published yearly since 1849
Children’s encyclopedias
- Britannica Library (Junior) - trusted information on subjects for children aged 5 to 11 years
- Britannica Library Student - trusted information on subjects for children aged 12 to 18 years
Consumer information
- Which? - reports, buying guides and the magazine's research, access in libraries only - ask a member of staff to log you in
This resource is temporarily unavailable. We are working to fix the problem.
Dictionaries and encyclopedias
- Britannica Library (Adult) - trusted information for adults
- Oxford Dictionaries - definitions of words, phrases and expressions
- The Oxford English Dictionary - widely regarded as the authority on the English Language, offers word meanings, history and pronunciation of over 600,000 words
- Oxford Reference - trusted information covering 25 different subjects
- Oxford Research Encyclopedias - a comprehensive, ever-growing collection of in-depth, trustworthy summaries on a range of subjects
Driving
- Theory Test Pro - online simulation of the UK's driving theory test with official test questions, hazard video clips and the Highway Code.
To access, register online with your name, email address and choose a password.
Family history and genealogy
- Findmypast-World - birth, marriage and death records, censuses, military records and local newspapers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the US and Canada.Temporary free home access to FindMyPast is available. Please send an email to libraries@brighton-hove.gov.uk to find out how to get access
- Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland - browse the ultimate reference work on family names in the UK
- British Newspaper Archive search regional newspapers for your ancestors.
- Birth, death and marriage records - these records for the city are available at our register office
History, art and music
- John Johnson Collection - archive of printed items about Britain in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries
- Oxford Art Online and Oxford Music Online are no longer available with your library card - find music and art resources on Oxford Reference
UK citizenship
- GoCitizen - study resource for candidates preparing for the Life in the UK Test, or British citizen test
To access, register with your name, email address and choose a password.