Residents of South Gloucestershire can now access thousands of national newspapers free-of-charge through council online library resources.

The majority of national and local papers are in addition to a range of international titles from across the world.

During the coronavirus pandemic there has been a significant increase in the number of people accessing the councils online resources with a surge of new members joining online.

In response to the demand, they expanded their online resources after receiving a grant of £1,000 from the Arts Council England to extend the service for a period of twelve months.

This new service is part of South Gloucestershire Council Libraries current online offer, which also includes ebooks, eaudiobooks, digital magazines and eComics.

Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Rachael Hunt said:

“This is a brilliant addition to our current online service. Access to newspapers online means that people will not have to leave home as often in the current circumstances and access to international titles means that people can keep up to date with news as it’s reported across the world.

“With our libraries currently closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, access to these online resources is invaluable to residents and means people can continue to read or listen to books in the comfort of their own home.”

Anyone who isn’t yet a member of a South Gloucestershire library can join online at www.librarieswest.org.uk and will be issued with a temporary membership to access online resources.

For more information visit www.southglos.gov.uk/eresources