Bolton Libraries subscribe to a number of online information resources including dictionaries, encyclopaedias, newspapers, directories, standards and business information.
Online resources accessible from anywhere
Several of our online resources can be accessed from anywhere at any time - free of charge. All you need is your eight digit borrower number on your library card. (If you are using a smart card, please enter the eight digit number written on the reverse of the card).
If you are not already a member of the library you will need to join to use these resources. Joining the library is easy and doesn't cost you a penny – please see Libraries - how to join in the left hand menu.
Links to each online resource are available from the 'Links' section on the right hand side of this page.
British Standards Online
British Standards Online is the most comprehensive and authoritative source for publications from the British Standards Institution. It covers all current, historic, and draft British Standards and more than 16,000 BSI adopted European and international standards. The full texts of all current British Standards can be viewed online. It is possible to search by name, subject and number. British Standards Online also includes technical handbooks, codes of practice and guidelines. Everything is updated on a daily basis. Please note that the British Standards Institution allows the printing of only 10 per cent of any British Standard from this database.
COBRA
COBRA is a continually expanding business encyclopaedia covering all aspects of starting and running a business. From writing a business plan to expanding an existing business, COBRA contains around 4000 factsheets, market reports, contacts, and sources of funding and support to help entrepreneurs and their advisers.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference brings together over 500 electronic books from over 75 leading publishers that you can search individually, by subject or as a whole collection. Subjects range from art to medicine, psychology to history and technology to literature. You can access Credo Reference on any library computer or via the internet using your Bolton Library card.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Britannica contains over 120,000 articles, a world atlas, thousands of images and videos, an online dictionary and thesaurus, over 300,000 articles from respected magazines and journals, news headlines, a guide to the Web's best sites and much more.
There are three editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica available online – Library edition, Student edition and Junior edition.
Go Citizen
Study for the Life in the UK citizenship test! There are learning games, study materials for different chapters, and practice tests too. You will need an email address and a library card number to sign up and log in.
NewsStand
NewsStand provides up to date access to full text articles from national and regional news, combining the most popular British newspaper titles in one database. Articles, editorials, obituaries and selected letters from approximately 300 newspapers are fully reproduced. The database is updated frequently every day and includes archives of each title.
Oxford Art Online
The most comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day. Illustrated with over 5,000 images, Oxford Art Online lets you see the works of art, as well as read about the people and processes involved in creating them.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Contains over 56,000 biographies of anyone who was anyone in British history, from the Romans to 21st Century. Covers people from all walks of life from film stars to physicists, landed gentry to local heroes, and missionaries to millionaires.
Oxford English Dictionary
Illustrates how a word is used and how the meaning of a word has changed over time by quoting from source material – from film scripts to wills, classic literature to blogs. Excellent for tracing how a word first entered the language and how it has evolved.
Oxford Music Online
From Mozart to Madonna, punk rock to polka, panpipes to bagpipes, Oxford Music Online is a wealth of information about anything and everyone related to the world of music.
Oxford Reference Online
A vast collection of subject dictionaries and reference books offering over 1 million facts and definitions. Oxford reference online also contains bilingual dictionaries and a range of English dictionaries and thesauruses.
Public Information Online
This gives you access to all UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly papers online in PDF format. House of Commons Papers, House of Lords Papers, Command Papers and much more are available from the 2006/07 Parliamentary Session onwards.
Theory Test Pro
An online simulation of the driving theory test. It contains the entire official test question bank, hazard perception video clips and an online version of the Highway Code. Automatically updates to the latest Driving Standards Agency question bank as soon as any changes happen.
Online resources are also listed by subject and are available from the 'Related pages' section on the right hand side of this page – please note some of the resources on the subject specific pages are only available within the library.