An exciting partnership between Gwynedd Council’s Libraries Service and the National Library of Wales means that the people of the county now have access to an on-line treasure trove of information about Wales and the world.
Thanks to this new arrangement, people who join one of Gwynedd’s libraries, or who are already members, have the opportunity to become a distance member of the National Library of Wales.
Members will have access to the National Library’s specialist on-line resources. This means that members will be able to look at hundreds and thousands of books, documents, pictures and photographs on the computer from the comfort of their own home or local library – all entirely free of charge.
Some of the resources now available to Gwynedd library users include:
- 19th Century British Newspapers Online
- British Standards Online
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Early English Books Online
- 18th Century Books Online
- Oxford Reference Online
Hywel James, Gwynedd Council’s Principal Librarian, said:
“Not everyone can travel to Aberystwyth to become members of the National Library and this new arrangements opens the door immeasurable treasures for the people of Gwynedd.
“There has always been a good working relationship between Welsh libraries and I am delighted that the National Library of Wales offers this opportunity in the field of electronic resources. We hope we can build on this agreement for the future.”
Andrew Green, one of the National Library of Wales’ librarians, said:
“The National Library of Wales is a library for all the people of the country. We are very proud to work in partnership so that we make it easier for the people of Gwynedd to have access to our massive information store and websites, all free of charge.”
A series of workshops with staff from the National Library have been organised across the county’s libraries as an introduction to the new on-line services. The first was held at Dolgellau Library with the Local History Group, who meet there regularly.
For more information about libraries in Gwynedd, go to www.gwynedd.gov.uk/library For more information about the National Library of Wales, go to www.llgc.org.uk/e-Resources
