Guide
Overview
A public library card often opens research databases that would otherwise cost money, such as historical newspapers, genealogy collections and journal archives. Each library chooses its own set of databases and its own rules for using them from home, so check your library's website or ask at the desk.
If you are researching family history, looking up old news articles, hunting for a specific document or trying to find a book that was never digitized, start with the library. WorldCat is the shared catalog that member libraries use to list what they hold, and your library can often borrow an item from another library for you.
Guide
WorldCat Global Library Catalog
Guide
Library of Congress
Guide
Find Your Local Public Library
- IMLS Library Search & CompareFederal tool to look up and compare U.S. public libraries
- IMLS Public Libraries SurveyFederal data on public library systems, collected each year
Many public libraries offer e-books through Libby (OverDrive), streaming through Hoopla or Kanopy, and research databases such as ProQuest newspapers and HeritageQuest, free with a library card. Each library picks its own services.
Straight answers
Questions about public libraries
Can I access research databases for free through my local library?
Yes. Many public library systems give cardholders free access to research databases, often from home: newspaper and journal archives, HeritageQuest for census and other family history records, and e-book and streaming services such as Libby and Hoopla. Ancestry Library Edition is different: most libraries offer it only on library computers or library Wi-Fi, as the District of Columbia Public Library does. Each library picks its own databases, so check its website under research databases or ask at the desk.
What is interlibrary loan (ILL)?
If your library doesn't own a book or document you need, they can borrow it from another library through the WorldCat network. You fill out a one-page request, the library handles the logistics, and the item shows up at your branch usually in 1 to 3 weeks. Most libraries don't charge anything for ILL.
How do I access historical newspapers online for free?
Chronicling America is the Library of Congress's free, full text collection of historic U.S. newspaper pages published through 1963; the Library's Chronicling America research guide explains how to search it. For papers after 1963, ask your library which newspaper databases it subscribes to.