Online resources - list by subject

All the resources listed below and on our A to Z list are free to use if you are a member of Westminster Libraries.

indicates a 24/7 Exclusive Resource, available anywhere you can reach the Internet. Outside the library, you will need your library card number to log in. Click on the title to go directly to the web page.

indicates an In House Special, available at one or more Westminster library (as noted for each individual resource), but not elsewhere. Library staff may need to log you in - please ask us. Click on the library name to get location and contact details

If you are looking for something specific and cannot see it here, try looking on our list of who's got which resource in London.

Quick reference & encyclopaedias

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Credo Reference	A wide range of high quality reference books, searchable through a common interface.		About Credo Reference
Gale Virtual Reference Library	Over 120 eBooks on Arts, Humanities and Sciences.		About Gale Virtual Reference Library
KnowUK	Directories and information sources on all aspects of life in this country.		About KnowUK
Oxford Digital Reference Shelf	A collection of ebooks on the arts, literature & language, science & social science, and history & culture.		About Oxford Digital Reference Shelf
Oxford English Dictionary	The most extensive dictionary of the English language and its origins.		About the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford Islamic Studies	Over 3000 articles from dedicated scholars about Islam and the Qur'an.
Oxford Language Dictionaries	Translate words between the English, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian and German languages, and hear how they are pronounced.		About Oxford Language Dictionaries
Oxford Reference Online	Over 200 reference books from the Oxford University Press.		About Oxford Reference Online

 Advice & help

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Which? Local	Forum for Which? readers to recommend service providers that they have experience of using in their local area (available at Marylebone Information Service).
Which?	Test results, recommendations and advice guides (available at Maida Vale, Marylebone Information, Mayfair, St John's Wood & Westminster Reference Library).

Art & design

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Art Abstracts & Art Full Text	Bibliographic database of periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins (available at Westminster Reference Library).
Art Index Retrospective	Citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 of the printed index (1929 and 1984). Cites articles and reproductions from 579 art publications throughout the world.
Bookseller	Articles, charts of sales, and other in-depth information about the book trade (available at Westminster Reference Library).
Burlington Magazine Index	Indexing and content from the fine arts magazine from 1903 to 1992
Design & Applied Arts Index	The leading source of abstracts and bibliographic records for articles, news items, and reviews published in design and applied arts periodicals from 1973 onwards (available at Westminster Reference Library).
John Johnson Collection	65,000 items of printed ephemera. Particularly strong on advertising and 19th Century entertainment materials, including tickets, programmes and playbills, but also including popular topographical, satirical and humorous prints.
Oxford Art	Combines Grove Art with its 45,000 articles with the Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Encyclopaedia of Aesthetics and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.		About Oxford Art Online

Biography

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography	The most authoritative collection of British biographies (over 50,000 entries).		About the ODNB
Who's Who and Who Was Who	Directory of the noteworthy and influential, plus Who Was Who: 100,000+ entries from the archives of Who’s Who dating back to 1898		About Who's Who

Books

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Bookseller	Online database of the magazine's articles, charts of sales, and other in-depth information about the book trade (available at Westminster Reference Library).
Contemporary Authors	Biographical and comprehensive bibliographical information on more than 100,000 modern authors.		About Contemporary Authors

Business

Title & link	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
COBRA	The complete business reference adviser, including opportunities, markets, financial and legal information.		About COBRA
Datamonitor 360 - Marketline	In-depth information on companies and markets from around the world.		About Marketline
Euromoney	Up-to-date financial, market, business and banking information/articles (available at Westminster Reference Library).
Experian	In-depth company information (similar to Fame), including accounts, locations, directors, shareholders and products/services provided (available at Church Street, Paddington, Pimlico and Westminster Reference Library).		About Experian
Grantfinder	Lists over 6,000 funding opportunities: grants, tax breaks, loans, and awards, covering almost every sector, from the UK and EU (available at Church Street, Marylebone, Paddington, Pimlico and Westminster Reference Library).		About Grantfinder
Integrated Tariff	(Revenue & Customs) - provides information on taxes payable to UK customs upon import/export of goods (available at Westminster Reference Library).		About the tariff
Keynote	Market reports covering a wide variety of subjects (available at Church Street, Paddington, Pimlico and Westminster Reference Library).
Kompass [Inside the library][Outside the library]	This Worldwide directory covers thousands of companies and their products; exporters, importers, suppliers and more.		About Kompass
Mintel	Wide range of market research reports from a very highly regarded source (available at Westminster Reference Library)		About Mintel

Family history

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Ancestry	Key records for family history research, including 1841-1901 census; birth, marriage and death records; street directories, telephone directories, school and military lists (available in all libraries all libraries).		About Ancestry
Find My Past	Excellent for searching for your family's history. Unlike Ancestry it specialises in those living in the UK and also is the only resource to hold the 1911 census (available in all libraries).		About Find My Past

Law

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
CANs Advice Notes	User-friendly summary of the laws of England, Wales and Scotland.		About CANS
Westlaw	Legal database of cases and legislation with access to useful legal journals, books and news. (available at Westminster Reference Library & Marylebone Information Service).		About Westlaw

Learning & careers

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Learning Nexus: Online Independent Learning	Computer and business skills for personal and small business use. Plase note that you must register at any Westminster library before you first use Learning Nexus.		About Learning Nexus
Life in the UK practice tests	Use this resource to prepare for the British Citizenship test (requires pre-registration).		About the Life in the UK Practice Tests

Music & performing arts

Title	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
International index to performing arts	A database indexing a great many performing arts magazines/journals. Also includes some full text articles. (Note that you need to specify this database by clicking "change" at the top of the page).
International Index to Music Periodicals	Indexing and abstracts for several music journals and magazines plus some full-text articles from ProQuest. (Note that you need to specify this database by clicking "change" at the top of the page).
Music Online Reference	Music reference resources from Alexander Street Press, including Classical, African American and World music, plus a scores library.		About Music Online Reference
Naxos Music Library	Listen to over 60,000 CDs from Naxos and other labels. Classical, jazz, nostalgia, world and pop. Read sleeve notes, glossaries and fun stuff.		About Naxos Music Library
Oxford Music Online	Combines Grove Music (Music & Musicians, Jazz, and Opera) with the Encyclopaedia of Popular Music, the Oxford Dictionary and Companion.		About Oxford Music Online
White Book	Directory of enertainment companies, artistes and agents.

Newspapers & magazines

Title & link	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
The Economist	Fully searchable complete facsimile edition of the weekly paper covering politics, current affairs, business and trade, from 1843 to 2006.		About the Economist
Financial Times Historical Archive	Searchable facsimile archive of the daily financial newspaper from 1888 to 2007		About the FT's Archive
The Guardian and Observer archive	Searchable facsimile archive of The Guardian and The Observer from 1791 to 2003. (Note that you need to specify this database by clicking "change" at the top of the page).		About the Guardian & Observer
Illustrated London News	Searchable facsimile archive of the magazine stretching from 1842 to 2003.		About Illustrated London News
Jewish Chronicle	Back issues of the magazine going all the way back to 1841 (available at Marylebone Information Service).
Lancet	Full text of the medical research journal from July 1996, and searchable index back to 1823 (available at Marylebone Information Service).
Library Press Display	Newspapers from around the world, often online before the print edition.		About Library Press Display
Newsbank	Huge searchable archive of national & regional newspapers and magazines going from the current issue back several years.		About NewsBank
Picture Post	Facsimile archive of the iconic photo-journalism magazine chronicling life in Britain throughout the Second World War and the years of austerity following it, 1938-1957.		About Picture Post
The Times Digital Archive	A fully searchable facsimile edition of the Times covering 1785-2006.		About the Times Digital Archive
UK Press Online	Fully-searchable facsimiles of the Daily Mirror from 1903 to the current issue. Also Daily & Sunday Express and Daily Star.		About UK Press Online

Social Issues

Title & link	Description	24/7 or IHS	More info
Issues Online	Aimed primarily at students wishing to gain a better understanding of the world around them and the issues which affect their lives, but useful to anyone researching social issues.		About Issues Online