Online Reference Library
Reference and Research
We provide free access to a wide range of premium information resources, including newspapers, reference materials, and family history websites.
Inside library buildings - A larger range of resources is available in libraries.
Outside library buildings - Some resources are available at home using your library card and PIN. Just click the links marked 'sign in required'.
Dictionaries and encyclopedias
Oxford Reference: From art to zoology, all in one place.
Explore 45,000+ art articles—from prehistory to today
Discover global music: 45,000+ articles, Grove Dictionary, Oxford references, and recordings.
Full online access: explore timelines, articles, atlases, videos, and curated web links.
Explore 57,000 lives that shaped Britain—from 4th century BC to 2002—with portraits, places, and themes.
The ultimate guide to 500,000 English words—their meaning, history, and usage worldwide
Family and local history
Ancestry.com is a global genealogy and consumer genomics company that helps people research their family history. This resource is available in your local library using the computers or on a mobile device when using our library Wi-Fi
This resource is available in your local library using the computers or on a mobile device when using our library Wi-Fi
The ultimate guide to 500,000 English words—their meaning, history, and usage worldwide.
Directory of influential people from around the world from 1897 onwards.
Explore 57,000 lives that shaped Britain—from 4th century BC to 2002—with portraits, places, and themes.
Online training and courses
Online simulation for learner drivers to practice for the UK's driving theory test.
For people preparing for the Life in the UK or British citizenship tests. Includes online study materials from the Home Office and practice test questions.
Sign in to access these resources
On East Sussex Community Information (ESCIS) website, you can find community groups, organisations, clubs and services.
Find out more about ESCIS
Business and legal
You can access the Grantfinder database using the People's Network computers at BIPC Sussex's Hastings and Eastbourne libraries.
Information over 43 million companies across 71 countries worldwide.
eNewspapers and eMagazines
Free access to over 7,000 newspapers and magazines from around the world. Enjoy your favourite titles on your own device or in the library using the PressReader website or app. Log in from home with your library card and PIN.
Search articles, ads, notices, and images from The Times (1785–2006) and The Sunday Times (1822–2006), covering major news, crimes, careers, and culture.
250,000 pages and 750,000 illustrations capturing global events like the Boer War and milestones such as the Great Exhibition of 1851, featuring reports by Dickens, Hardy, and Christie.
The British Newspaper Archive offers millions of digitized UK and Irish newspaper pages from the 1700s onward for historical and genealogical research.
Reserach
JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Access to millions of high-quality primary sources and images from around the world, including artworks, maps, photographs, and more.
Access to Research is a service that provides free, walk-in access to more than 30 million academic articles in public libraries across the UK.
Arts, music and culture
Explore 45,000+ art articles—from prehistory to today
National Theatre Collection: World-class productions, streamed anytime.
BFI Replay is a free-to-access digital archive of thousands of digitised videos and television programmes.