Like books? a money saving tip often forgotten

Doc_N

barbarawright wrote: »

I'm another librarian and this thread gladdens my heart! I thought I'd add another moneysaving tip you might not know about. Most libraries subscribe to internet sites like the Oxford English Dictionary and the Times Digital Archive (the entire Times newspaper 1785-1985) and the Encyclopaedia Britannica. (My library has a lot more). Some of these will only be available in the library (such as Ancestry which family tree-hunters will know about) but a lot will be available at any computer as long as you log in with your library card.

Have a browse around your library website and see what you find under something like '24 hour library' or 'Online resources'. Great for homework enquiries and if you like history or biography (or are a general knowledge geek like me) you're bound to find something to interest you.

Thanks for this. My library service provides these free but I'm looking for a library that will give me free access at home to Which Online and Ancestry. You don't happen to know of any do you please? Most libraries seem to have dropped the old residency requirements these days, so joining another library doesn't look to be a problem any more.

barbarawright

Doc_N wrote: »

Thanks for this. My library service provides these free but I'm looking for a library that will give me free access at home to Which Online and Ancestry. You don't happen to know of any do you please? Most libraries seem to have dropped the old residency requirements these days, so joining another library doesn't look to be a problem any more.

You won't find one, I'm afraid. Neither are available as remote access (this is an option we always look into for any new subscription service). Ancestry do quite well selling individual subscriptions for c£300 so if they were to give it free through libraries then the cost would be prohibitively expensive for the libraries (we already spend about £30,000 per year on our subscriptions !). Same with Which - if you subscribe, you get the online version as well, so again, it's not worth their while making it available for free. You can certainly use it for free at my library though! If it's not available at your library and they take the magazine, ask them about it - they may not have realised they are entitled to a password for the online version as part of their sub. We are happy to log people onto the site (but we don't show them the password as our licence doesn't allow it).

Doc_N

Thanks, barbarawright. Looks like I shall have to keep up the Which subs!

anniewoo

I used to buy a lot of books,I have always loved reading since I was a small child.

However,having recently given up work,I decided that buying books was a luxury I could no longer afford.

So I joined my local library,I never found the time to go there when I was working.It is only a small branch,but I am now reading 2-3 novels a week.It is brilliant :j They probably take a while to get the latest best sellers in,but I am not bothered about that,there are enough books in there to keep me going for years.

They also have DVD's and CD's too.

Spacegirl,thanks for tip about greenmetropolis,I could do with having a bit of a clear out in my bookcases.