Adult online reference shelf

We've subscribed to a range of quality information sources so you can have a reference library at home or at the library.

When signing in to resources marked with an asterisk, prefix your library card (membership) number with SURREY

If you have trouble logging into our online products, please contact us.

Business

  • The Gazette company profiles
    Free, easy to search official information about every UK company registered with Companies House.
  • Naturally talented me. A free to use website to help people to find jobs, work, and career opportunities by matching their talents and skills as defined by their hobbies and interests to jobs in Surrey.

Living and learning

  • The Gazette
    The Gazette contains the official records of: wills and probate, insolvency, awards and accreditation and company profiles. It also includes guides, industry news and other useful resources.
  • Which? magazine
    Surrey libraries have a login for Which? that can be used on computers. Staff will log you in.
  • Discovering Children's Books at the British Library
    Explore centuries of stories, poems and illustrations with this free online resource for children, teachers and book-lovers of all ages. Please note: The British Library website is currently unavailable following a cyber-attack.
  • Surrey Energy advice tool
    The online tool will help you by asking a series of short questions and depending on the answers will offer tailored information on grants, support and advice, and non-financial help on a range of topics

Arts and music

  • Naxos Music Library
    Online streaming music resource containing over 170,000 CDs​. We have a limited number of concurrent users so if you are unable to login, please try again later.
  • BFI Replay (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    From the British Film Institute, BFI Replay is a brand-new video online platform. A 'living digital archive' from the BFI, designed to give you access to thousands of newly-digitised programmes and films; spanning 50 years of life captured from videotapes across the 20th century and almost lost forever.

Newspapers, magazines and journals

  • Access to Research (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    Over 6,000 publicly funded scientific research journals available for anyone to read in the library. You can pre-book a computer online if you wish.
  • British Newspaper Archive (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    Explore over 200 years of history, millions of stories: from your street to the world. To view images in the library you will need to register for your own free account. You can pre-book a computer online if you wish.
  • Magazine Collection
    View digital copies of your favourite magazines.
  • PressReader
    Today's papers including the Independent, Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express. Also regional papers and newspapers from around the world. Login to access PressReader. Please select sign in (top right), select "library or group" option on the pop up box and type in Surrey, choose Surrey library from options, type in your library card number and your Pin number.
  • Which? magazine (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    Surrey libraries have a login for Which? that can be used on computers. Staff will log you in. You can pre-book a computer online if you wish.

People and history

  • Ancestry (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    Search your family history using Ancestry's selection of UK censuses, parish records and many other national and international databases. Please note that the 1921 Census is not available on Ancestry as the contract for holding this information was awarded to Find My Past. You can pre-book a computer online if you wish.
  • Find My Past (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    A family history and genealogy website with an ever-growing collection of over 560 million family history records. Please note that access to the 1921 Census is available initially on a pay-per-view basis only and not via our library subscription or as part of an individual's subscription. Census returns will need to be purchased via an individual account, to ensure that credit card details cannot be shared or compromised from a library account. You can pre-book a computer online if you wish.

Reference

  • John Johnson Collection (access only available from a public computer in any Surrey library)
    The John Johnson Collection of printed ephemera from the Bodleian Library offers unique insights into the changing nature of everyday life in Britain. You can pre-book a computer online if you wish.
  • Oxford English Dictionary
    Prefix your borrower number with SURREY. Widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, the OED is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words.

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