• RI public libraries are linked through a state-wide communications network and an Innovative Interfaces Millennium system
• All public libraries have high-speed Internet access through the OSL network
• The 50 library systems in OSL offer access to a combined total of 4.5 million items
• Over 6.9 million items per year are borrowed from member libraries
• There are over 520,000 registered OSL library card holders
• OSL operates with an annual budget of $1.6 million derived from local support
• More than 1.5 million items annually are sent through the state-wide interlibrary loan system by OSL libraries

Catalog

OSL's online catalog offers access to materials in all of the public libraries in Rhode Island.

Search the Ocean State Library Catalog

Are you interested in getting materials you requested faster? You can receive notification by e-mail when books or other materials you requested are available for pickup. Next time you visit a library, ask staff to update your library card record with your e-mail address.

If you want to setup e-mail notification yourself, login with your library card number in the catalog. Click the Modify Personal Info button, and type your e-mail address.

Your OSL library card gives you free access to a large selection of research databases. Full text articles from the Providence Journal are available through ProQuest. A variety of national newspapers and magazines, many with full text, are available through EBSCOhost. Click on either of the links below and then type your 14-digit library card number. (Use of these databases is limited to individuals with OSL library cards. Institutional use is not permitted.)

• Find an  Article!

• Providence Journal from ProQuest, covering from 1983-current

Browse, check out, and download best selling digital titles 24/7 to your PC and PDA at home, in the office or from anywhere in the world. Now you can hear Audio Books and Music, or view eBooks and Videos--Free. Digital media can be downloaded and listened to on your home PC, burned to CD for your car stereo, and transferred to many supported portable devices--all without leaving the comfort of your home. All OSL library card holders can use this service.

• Visit the Ocean State Libraries E-Zone