The doors of the National Library of Wales’s much-loved building in Aberystwyth may be closed for a while, but online we’re as open as ever and there’s still plenty you can do from home using our excellent range of resources online.
Over the last 20 years, the Library has been busy digitising its collection, resulting in over 5 million items available for free on the National Library of Wales website.
The available collections include:
- books
- manuscripts
- archives
- maps
- pictures
- photographs
so there’s plenty to entertain and inform whatever your interests.
Maybe you’d like to use this time to do some family history research?
Here are a few ways we can help:
- Expert advice on how to start your Family History research.
- Search and view our collection of pre-1958 wills for free.
- Search for your ancestors among the 1.1 million pages of Welsh Newspapers [newspapers.library.wales]. Who knows what hidden stories you’ll find among the 15 million articles dating from 1804 to 1919!
Perhaps you’re interested in discovering more about your house or local area?
The Places of Wales website is a great place to start.
Here you can search and browse over 300,000 entries from the Tithe Maps of Wales. You can view the maps themselves and the accompanying apportionments and compare them to more modern maps.
Who owned you house, what was the land used for in the past – its all on the Places of Wales website.
There’s also 1.2 million pages of Welsh Journals dating between 1735-2007 that could help you with local history research. Browse through 450 different journals and see what you can find about your local area.
Are you home schooling for the first time?
We can help!
The Library’s Education Service offers many education resources for free.
Available on the Education Services pages and Hwb, the resources cover a wide range of topics, from the Princes of Wales to the Second World War, to art and inspiring creativity.
And during playtime, why not try the Digital Build Challenge and recreate the National Library of Wales using Minecraft, Lego or any other block game! Videos, floor plans, dimensions and pictures, all available on Hwb, will help you along the way.
Had enough of research and teaching? Relax with the National Library!
Browse through our various collections.
Let our beautiful works of art inspire you! Search our Catalogue or browse nearly 2000 works of art from our collections through the ArtUK website.
Escape for a while with old photographs or films, which we offer free online.
- Search our photographic collection through our Catalogue or browse a selection on our Digital Gallery.
- Browse over 700 films from the Screen and Sound Archive, which are available to watch for free through the BFI Player.
You can even enjoy digital exhibitions from the comfort of your own home
- Delve into the literary world of artist Paul Peter Piech by visiting the online exhibition available on the People’s Collection Wales website.
- If you enjoy politics, learn more about former Prime Minister David Lloyd George or browse the political cartoons of Leslie Illingworth.
- For those who enjoy literature, why not browse our Dylan Thomas Exhibition or learn more about the literary tradition of Wales in our Europeana Rise of Literature Exhibition.
The possibilities are endless and whatever interests you, you’re sure to discover something to inform or amuse.
Visit our Library Resources page for a full list of our resources available from home.
