Interested users can perform a text search which can either be broad or very specific. Advanced search parameters allow to specify a timeframe, place of publication, publication section, frequency and language among other parameters. It is furthermore possible to only search for information that are freely available. Free newspaper articles are available instantly while those that are not free require a registration on the site and the purchase of a 24-hour or 7-day pass which are good for 100 and 200 articles during that time (the website selling the passes was unavailable at the time of writing so no information on the pricing scheme)

A free search will only yield a few results compared to a full text search. Searching for Jack the Ripper will for instance displays 23 free results but 2035 free and pay to view results. All contents of the newspaper library are usually available for people in UK higher and further education and in some public libraries.

Newspaper articles can be printed and marked as favorites. The British Newspaper archive can be accessed freely by people from all over the world.