Your Library, Your Neighbourhood

Your Library, Your Neighbourhood
Let Wigan Libraries help you find information on all kinds of useful facts about your local area. If you’re looking to find out more about what’s happening in your community, there’s a good chance that your local library will have the answer! These are just some of the questions to which we have the answers:

How can I contact my local councillors or MP?
Who is my nearest doctor/dentist/optician?
Is there a local drama/photographic/music society?
Whom do I contact about planning permission?
What is the population of Wigan?
Do you have a list of local churches/mosques?

Your library also has a wide range of local information to help keep you informed about your neighbourhood, including:

Council minutes and agendas of committee meetings;
Prospectuses, OFSTED Reports and performance tables for local school, colleges and universities are available online;
Lists of local doctors, dentists and other health service information;
Information about councillors, committees and council meeting;
Local street maps and plans;
Electoral Register.

All the above information is available at your fingertips at any of our libraries, all you need to do is ask!

A Note About the Electoral Register
Wigan and Leigh Libraries hold the current edition of the full Register for all wards of Wigan Council. You are not allowed to make photocopies of the Register, only hand-written notes may be made. This is a legal requirement. You are unable to search by a person’s name - there isn’t a publicly available Council list of Wigan residents by name.

Explore Online: Community Information Database
Whether you’re into wargaming, or creative when it comes to cross stitch, Explore Online is your first port of call to find other like-minded individuals. Explore Online is Wigan Libraries’ own community information database, providing a guide to clubs, societies and organisations in your area. If you’re looking for a new hobby, interest or support group, our database is also a great place to start. It’s your gateway to a wide variety of local and national groups and information in the Wigan & Bolton area.

Postcode Searching
You can find out postcodes by visiting Royal Mail’s online services at http://postcode.royalmail.com/portal/rm/postcodefinder.

Tracing People
Perhaps you’re looking for someone you’ve lost touch with? Wigan Libraries Information Service holds a number of resources which may be able to help you if you are trying to trace someone. If you wish to consult historical registers you will need to contact Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust’s Heritage Service.

We also hold telephone directories for the whole of the UK as well as the Channel Islands, Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. Phone books are also available online via BT's Phonebook.

If you’re still having problems tracing someone, why not try some of these alternative methods:
► The Salvation Army Family Tracing Service

The following websites may also be of assistance in finding the person you are looking for (a fee may be payable to access information):

► 192.com
► Friends Reunited
► Wigan World