Lord Louis Library in Newport is home to the County Reference Library. The books are not for loan and consist mainly of encyclopaedias, maps, dictionaries, statistics, IW Council minutes of meetings, car workshop manuals and other similar types. Other facilities include the Family History Centre, the Local Studies Collection, public access computers, UK telephone books and some national newspapers. The staff will answer enquiries received in person or by phone, e-mail or letter.
The Local Studies Collection is housed in a separate room in Lord Louis Library and contains some 3,000 books about Island history. This includes everything from printers to prisons, religion to railways, biographies of local people, trade directories, electoral registers and local magazines.
The Family History Centre holds the GRO Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths for the whole of England and Wales from late 1837 on microfiche. You can book a microfiche reader for an hour at a time, by phoning the Reference Library (823800). Some national census records are available along with some national online databases such as the Times Digital Archive. You will find Isle of Wight genealogical records and census records at the County Records Office, also in Newport.
Lord Louis Library Orchard StreetNewportIsle of WightPO30 1LL
Tel: 823800Fax 823841Email: reflib@postmaster.co.ukWebsite http://www.iwight.com/library