Four new databases available at the State Library

Hooray, we have four new databases available for your delectation! 

1. Literature Resource Center : Information on authors and their works in all genres and disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world using the world’s most current, comprehensive, and reliable online literature resource.
2. Biography Resource Center : An authoritative resource for biographies on notable figures in literature, science, history, government, business, art, religion, entertainment and sports
3. Science Resource Center : Millions of full-text articles on hundreds of topics from over 200 magazines and academic journals along with thousands of topic overviews, experiments, biographies, pictures, illustrations and links to quality web sites.
4. Health and Wellness Resource Center : Full-text authoritative information from journals and reference books covering health, fitness and nutrition.  (This database is also available as a Database from Home)

Click on the title links to go to the catalogue record with additional information for each resource.  To access the databases you will need to visit us at the State Library  as access is limited to those searching within the State Library building (except for the Health and Wellness Resource Center).   To book a PC you will  need to register for a free mylibrary card.  You can search for the databases in our catalogue or you can navigate to them from the Electronic Resources section of our website!

Open Science Directory

Online subscription databases are great – however it can be frustrating when you find the answer to a client’s question and then realise that you can’t send it on because of your institution’s licensing agreement with the database’s owners.  This is becoming much more common as clients from all over the world contact libraries using email and chat services. 

Fortunately there are some services that enable you to search for and find reliable and free information on the web.  One such service (recently featured on the Scout Report) is the Open Science Directory.

The directory aims:

To create a global search tool for all open access and special programs journal titles.

and targets:

Institutes (universities, research units, …) and their researchers in developing countries.

Every organization and researcher interested in these collections.

Anyone using this site can search across a multitude of scientific journals and (where they are available) access full text articles at no cost.  So – if you (or  your library clients) are unable to access expensive scientific databases, the Open Science Directory should be a great resource.