The Ohio Web Library is an evolving collection of thousands of online publications and research resources. The Ohio Web Library includes: popular magazines, trade publications, scholarly research journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, dictionaries, speeches, poems, plays, maps, satellite images of Ohio, and more. The Ohio Web Library supports quality education, a skilled workforce, business growth, and lifelong learning in Ohio.
In addition to the Ohio Web Library, Ohio’s three library networks — INFOhio, OhioLINK and OPLIN — offer more research resources and services that serve the specialized needs of their school, public and academic library communities. Where the needs of Ohio’s school, public and academic library users intersect, Libraries Connect Ohio, a partnership of the three library networks and the State Library, can cooperatively buy statewide access to resources to cost-effectively provide necessary information resources to all Ohioans, regardless of their location, age, education or economic status.
Imagine the possibilities if from the moment Ohioans registered for kindergarten, until life’s last library card expired, they could access a vast collection of electronic research resources. This is the vision Libraries Connect Ohio (LCO) is working to achieve. While the ideal Ohio Web Library collection has not yet been realized, work has begun.
| ACCESS THE OHIO WEB LIBRARY |
How can the Ohio Web Library help me?
The Ohio Web Library has resources to help Ohioans of all ages and at all stages of life.
- Ohio Students and Home Schooling Students — Get help with your homework, find research sources for term papers, or explore topics of personal interest.
- Teachers and Professors — Use resources to support your teaching, engage students and enhance your professional development.
- Employees and Business Owners — Find reliable business information, access trade journals and keep current on industry trends.
- All Ohio residents — Stay current with world events, professional news and topics of personal interest.
Who can use the Ohio Web Library?
Although there are a few links to some resources that are publicly accessible, the vast majority of Ohio Web Library resources are available to Ohio residents only.
These resources are paid for by a blend of state, local, and federal dollars and there may be terms and conditions attached to that funding. These resources are also licensed to the LCO partners by third-party vendors and there are contractual obligations regarding authorized use and users, branding, and use of the name of the resource and company name in press releases. Please inquire about specific terms and conditions and contractual obligations if any agency or entity is interested in incorporating or linking to these resources outside of library websites or other established channels.
How do I access the Ohio Web Library?
Ohio residents can get easy access to the Ohio Web Library (http://ohioweblibrary.org) in several ways.
- Use your mobile computer or a public access computer at your local Ohio public, academic or school library.
- When at home, work or on the road, our system will try to verify that you are using a computer located in Ohio; if that can be verified, you will be granted access.
- If our system cannot verify that your computer is in Ohio, you will need one of the following forms of identification to log on: an Ohio public library card number, a name and ID information from a participating Ohio college/university, or a password from a K-12 Ohio school library.
Visit the Ohio Web Library home page to connect and begin using these resources. You can also access the Ohio Web Library resources via OhioLINK (if you attend or work at a participating Ohio college or university), or INFOhio (if you attend or work at an Ohio PreK-12 school), or your local library’s Web page.
Why should I need identification?
Ohio Web Library resources were purchased by Ohio libraries and library organizations for exclusive use by Ohio residents. If our system cannot verify that you are located in Ohio, use of an Ohio public library card, a name and ID information from a participating Ohio college/university, or a password from a K-12 Ohio school library provides reasonable assurance to the database providers that the user is an Ohio resident.
How do I sign up for identification?
Contact your J.R. Clarke Public Library at (937) 473-2226 to sign up for a library card. Ohio college/university students, faculty and staff should use their institution’s existing ID information. Ohio school students and teachers need to contact their school library for the required password.
