Research & reference
Ask a Librarian
Looking for trusted and reliable information on the internet? Our team of information professionals can point you in the right direction.
The following free resources are recommended or provided by Suffolk Libraries.
Unless otherwise stated, they are available from any location. Please be aware that you will need your library card and PIN to access some of them.
Genealogy and history
Ancestry
Library version of the popular family history website. Only available to use in a library.
Find My Past
Library edition of the popular ancestry site. Only available to use in a library.
The John Johnson Collection
Printed primary sources from the 19th and 20th centuries. John Johnson collected printed ephemera from playbills to records of crime and punishment, advertisement posters to maps.
World Digital Library
Historical and international primary resources including books, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, journals, prints and photographs. Available in 7 languages.
Children’s homework
Britannica for children
Colourful, interactive and age-appropriate version of the popular online encyclopaedia.
Britannica for students
Edition of the popular encyclopaedia aimed at older children and young teens, featuring topical articles, images and videos, biographies and primary sources across a range of topics.
Q-files
Illustrated encyclopaedia for children.
Academic research
Access to Research
Millions of academic research papers and journals covering art, architecture, business, engineering, history, languages, politics, philosophy, mathematics and the sciences.
Britannica for adults
Biographies, articles, primary sources and much more on a range of topics.
Reference
British Library catalogue
Search the full British Library catalogue.
Collins Dictionary, Thesaurus and Translater
The home of living English, with more than 722,000 words, meanings and phrases.
Film and media
BFI Screen Online
Film and television clips from a vast archive.
Local studies and data
Suffolk Archives
Interactive catalogue of photographs and documents from Suffolk Record Office.
Suffolk Observatory
Social and economic statistics for Suffolk, including full Census details.
Citizens and consumers
Funding Central
Help with funding for projects and services from a huge range of resources.
Which?
The following libraries subscribe to Which?. You can view hard copies of the magazine or ask staff to log you in to the Which? website.
- Aldeburgh Library
- Beccles Library
- Brandon Library
- Broomhill Library
- Bungay Library
- Bury St Edmunds Library
- Chantry Library
- Felixstowe Library
- Gainsborough Community Library
- Hadleigh Library
- Halesworth Library
- Haverhill Library
- Ipswich County Library
- Leiston Library
- Lowestoft Library
- Mildenhall Library
- Newmarket Library
- Rosehill Library
- Saxmundham Library
- Southwold Library
- Stowmarket Library
- Sudbury Library
- Woodbridge Library