The 24 Hour Library
Search the library catalogue, check your loans, renew or reserve items, or use our online reference library from the comfort of your own home.
The Online Reference Library
Why do I need an online reference library?
Many people use Google or other search engines to find information online, and while this can sometimes be useful, at other times the information you need is not available on a free to use website, so Google won't find it, or you may be unsure of the accuracy of the information provided. Often your search results can provide information which is out of date, or just wrong! This is why we still need high quality reference publications, but these can be expensive to buy and can quickly go out of date.
Shetland Library has developed its own online reference library, providing free access for library members to hundreds of popular reference books like
- Encyclopaedia Britannica - not just articles, but great images, video and sound clips as well. All articles have 3 different versions - Junior (for 5-11 year olds), Student (for 12-18 year olds) or Adult versions. An invaluable resource.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - comprehensive biographies and images of over 56,000 people from British History
- Oxford Reference Online - Dictionaries covering art, science, birds, reptiles, animals, plants, ecology, conservation, ships, weather, accountancy, economics, food and nutrition, history, religion, literature, mythology, place names, opera, theatre, space exploration, politics or psychology, and more. Also contains dual language dictionaries in French, Spanish, Italian, Latin and Welsh.
- Which Guidebooks (on KnowUK): Buy, Sell and Move House, Finance Your Retirement, Wills and Probate, Money Saving Handbook and many more
- Financial help for groups or people (on KnowUK): the Directory of Grants and Funds in Scotland, Guide to Grants for Individuals in Need, Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook, Educational Grants Directory
- Legal information (on KnowUK): Scottish Law Directory, Scottish Legal Questions Answered
- Yearbooks (on KnowUK): the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook, Poetry Writers' Yearbook, Filmmakers' Yearbook, Musicians' and Songwriters' Yearbook
- Newspapers: (on NewsUK) Cross search over 100 national and regional newspapers, or have articles on your favourite topics emailed to you each week.
You can browse these books online, or search the websites for specific keywords. To use these websites from home, you will need your library barcode number, which is the number on the reverse of your library card. If you have any difficulties in using these sites, please contact the library.
More About the Sites
KnowUK is is the most comprehensive resource of its kind, offering a complete library of UK information. Know UK provides access to over 100 popular UK reference books including directories eg. the Directory of Grants and Funds in Scotland, the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook, UK tourist guides eg. the Blue Guides Scotland/England/Wales/Ireland and Which? guidebooks eg Which? Money Saving Handbook, Which? Wills and Probate.
To view a full list of books, log on to Know UK and click on 'Browse All Publications'.
If you are a member of Shetland Library, you can access KnowUK outwith the library from any computer by clicking on the library barcode link on the KnowUK homepage, then typing in the number on the back of your library card.
A sophisticated searcheable database of full text from over 100 national and regional newspapers. Cross-search the full text or article title by keyword, date or newspaper, save your searches and have the results emailed to you daily, weekly or monthly.
News Topic pages focus on major contemporary issues - from criminal justice to global warming, and from gambling to vegetarianism. Each News Topic page links to recent headlines and background reading articles, images and useful Web sites.
Britannica Online - Library Edition
The online edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica for all ages, providing comprehensive, authoritative information on nearly every subject. The online edition includes multimedia such as film and audio clips as well as text and images. If you are a member of Shetland Library, you can access Britannica outwith the library by typing in the number on the back of your library card in the login page.
| Britannica Junior | For ages 5 - 11 |  |
| Britannica Student | For ages 12 - 18 |  |
| Britannica Online Library Edition | For ages 18+ |  |
Original Sources provides access to books and documents produced by some of the greatest minds throughout history. Contains over 5,000 complete books and 350,000 documents covering areas such as World History, Social Sciences, Science and Mathematics, Philosophy and Religion. If you are a member of Shetland Library, you can access Original Sources outwith the library using your library barcode number by going to the Original Sources Remote Log In page.
Oxford Reference Online
Contains a huge amount of information on a wide range of topics - whether you are interested in art, science, birds, reptiles, animals, plants, ecology, conservation, ships, weather, accountancy, economics, food and nutrition, history, religion, literature, mythology, place names, opera, theatre, space exploration, politics or psychology, you will find something of interest here. Also very useful if you need a good dual language dictionary in French, Spanish, Italian, Latin or Welsh. If you are a member of Shetland Library, you can access Oxford Reference Online outwith the library by typing in the number on the back of your library card in the login page.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
An illustrated collection of more than 50,000 authoritative, signed, biographies of notable men and women connected with the British Isles, from all walks of life, from the fourth century BC to the year 2006. No living people are included. Biographies vary in length from a few dozen to over 30,000 words. Each includes a list of sources. 10,000 are illustrated. The database also includes the full text of the original DNB. If you are a member of Shetland Library, you can access the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography outwith the library by typing in the number on the back of your library card in the login page.
Oxford English Dictionary
www.oed.com
The OED is the online equivalent of 23 printed volumes and has additional features, such as the option to search for a word when you know the meaning but have forgotten the word (it will search for words in the definition) . The above link will work if you are using a computer within Shetland Library or school sites. If you are using the OED from another computer please go to the OED library log in page.
This site provides access to over 300,000 images, movies and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media. It can be used generically - as a substitute for clip art - or you can use it to create calendars, postcards or greetings cards. It is particularly useful for finding historical images and old photographs, which you may not be able to find on Google Images.
To log in from a computer outwith the Shetland Library go to the SCRAN library login page.
Have you read all the books by your favourite author and are looking for something new to try? This site can provide you with a list of similar authors whose books you might enjoy. Of course, no author writes exactly like another, but the selection of alternatives provided should help to narrow the choices from the hundreds of titles available. You won't need your library card to login, as you will be logged in automatically if you follow the link from this site.
Other Useful Links:
Planitplus - another highly recommended careers and learning site
Local Links:
UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands) Library Catalogue - search the library catalogues of the Shetland College and Scalloway College (NAFC).
Shetland Archives Catalogue online - search for Shetland documents held at the Archives.