Online Articles & Research

Use our electronic collections of newspapers, magazines, journals, encyclopedias, eBooks, audiobooks, research reports, images and multimedia to research any topic. To gain access to these resources, you'll need your Oakville Public Library card (14 digit barcode with no spaces) and PIN (usually the last four digits of your phone number)..
Browse Databases By Topic
- All
- Academic Research and Education
- Biography
- Books and Literature
- Business and Careers
- Canadian Resources
- Consumer Information and Leisure
- eBooks
- Encyclopedias and Reference
- French Resources
- Genealogy, Local History and Community
- Government, Law and Statistics
- Health and Wellness
- History and Social Science
- Kids
- Languages
- Music
- News and Current Affairs
- Science and Technology
- Streaming Digital Content
- Teens
GENEALOGY, LOCAL HISTORY AND COMMUNITY
A
Ancestry Library Edition
A fabulous resource for anyone doing genealogical or historical research. ALE offers 200+ billion images in 7,000 unique databases from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and other international collections that continue to grow. Records include census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more with some information dating back to the early 13th century. Accessible only from within the library.
C
Canadiana Discovery Portal

More than 60 million pages of centuries of Canadian history from 30 different library, museum and archive collections.
D
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Historical information on Canada's inhabitants and their culture courtesy of Library and Archives Canada. Biographical information is provided for persons who died between the years 1000 and 1930 or whose last known date of activity falls within these years.
F
FamilySearch.org
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy community in the world and provides free access to records containing over four billion names from across the globe. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints works with a multitude of partners to fulfill their mission to “help people connect with their ancestors through easy access to historical records
H
Halton Community Services Database

Search for local community services by subject, keyword or organization name.


You can search all online Oakville/Halton databases at once! This service takes you to over 500,000 records for Halton region. Included are: Births, Marriages and Deaths, Census, Cemetery, Land Records, Surrogate Court Records, Military Records, Business Directories, Photographs, Newspaper Articles, Books, Documents and Maps. The information is drawn from over 20 local databases.
O
Oakville Beaver and other Oakville Newspapers

Browse or search local newspapers, including the Oakville Beaver, Daily Journal Record and many others.
V
Virtual Reference Library

Developed and managed with resources from the Toronto Public Library, the Virtual Reference Library (VRL) provides free access to digital material of historical importance to Ontario and Canada. The VRL is a unique and vast digital collection of high quality images including Ontario maps, fire insurance plans and views of towns and cities over time, culled from the Library's collection and dating back to the 1880s.