Online subscriptions

Some of our online subscriptions are accessible in your local library only, but many are available from any device when you log in with your library card. We've paid for them so you don't have to.

Theory Test Pro and GoCitizen - available in early January from Library computers only

• Theory Test Pro is a highly realistic online simulation of the UK's driving theory test.
  • It contains the official practice test question bank, hazard perception video clips and an online version of the Highway Code.
  • All this material is licensed from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the people who set the tests.
  • You can access the resource from a Library computer only and will need to register with your name, email address and password.
• GoCitizen is an online study resource for candidates preparing for the Life in the UK Test or British citizenship test.
  • The service includes an online version of the latest official study materials licensed from the Home Office, the people who write the handbook.
  • Hundreds of practice test questions in the same format as the official test.
  • Practice test questions are also available in over 40 languages.
  • You can access the resource from a Library computer only and will need to register with your name, email address and password.

Local and family history

Resources to support local and family history research.

Local and family history - from home and library computers

• Gale - Times Digital Archive (1785 to 2019) - 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 Gale database from home by typing your library card number in the box below where it says 'please enter your library barcode'.
• Gale - 19th Century British Library Newspapers - full runs of 48 mainly regional and some national newspapers.  Covers England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Access the Gale database from home by typing your library card number in the box below where it says 'please enter your library barcode'. 

Local and family history - from library computers only

• 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.
• Findmypast is a British-owned online genealogy resource, offering databases containing over four billion records including civil registration, census records, UK parish records and British military records.
• BFI Replay - A new free-to-access digital archive from the BFI (British Film Institute), exclusively available in UK public lending libraries, containing sixty years of screen stories, digitised and preserved for you. The result of one of the UK's largest mass digitisation programmes, the films have been drawn from the vaults of the BFI National Archive and partner UK Regions and Nations Film Archives.

Business support

Online resources for businesses, charities and local communities to find out about grants, loans and funding opportunities. There is also market research and support to set up a business.

Business support - from home and library computers

• GRANTfinder (opens new window) has 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, ask a member of staff to log you in.
• Grants 4 Norfolk. Register 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. View only, to download company listings please email your search criteria to bipcnorfolk@norfolk.gov.uk

Business support - from library computers only

• BSOL (British Standards Online)  (opens new window) 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 (opens new window). Available at Norfolk & Norwich Millennium, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Thetford, Wroxham and Wymondham libraries. Please note this is only available until 31 January 2024.
• COBRA (Complete Business Reference Adviser) gives you access to information covering all aspects of starting up and running a business.
• 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 the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library (Business and IP Centre) Only. Not available during Open Library sessions as it requires staff to log you in. View only, to download company listings please email your search criteria to bipcnorfolk@norfolk.gov.uk
• 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.

News - from home and library computers

A collection of reliable news sources and online access to thousands of newspapers and magazines (UK and worldwide coverage).

• Gales News and Reference collection gives access to Infotrac Newsstand - a collection of current and UK worldwide newspapers and 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.
• PressReader eNewspapers and eMagazines 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.

General research and reference

We offer a variety of research and reference materials, ranging from academic articles to Which consumer reports, reviews and advice. Encyclopaedia Britannica is available at different levels, which are age appropriate. Oxford Dictionaries offers online access to a wide range of words, phrases and information.

General research and reference - from home and library computers

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online - For access from home (with a library card), use these links:

• Britannica Junior
• Britannica Student
• Britannica Adult

Oxford Dictionaries and Reference Online

• Oxford Dictionaries - English (opens new window) - 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 (opens new window) using your library card. Enter NOR before the number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford English Dictionary Online (opens new window) - widely acknowledged as being the most authoritative and comprehensive dictionary of English in the world.  Access the OED from home (opens new window) using your library card. Enter NOR before the number when prompted (with no spaces).
• Oxford Reference Online (opens new window) - 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 (opens new window) - 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 (opens new window) 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 (opens new window) - 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).

General research and reference - from library computers only

• Access to 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. Available in all Norfolk libraries.
• Which? Access to Which consumer reports, reviews and advice. Which will not be available during Open Library sessions as it requires staff to log you in.

British citizenship - from home and library computers

The Life in the UK website will help you with the application process for British citizenship or permanent residency. Practice material is available in multiple languages.

• The Life in the UK website (opens new window) 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.