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State Library of Queensland  >  Find...  >  Databases  >  History, geography and biography

History, geography and biography

Queenslanders have access to a number of authoritative, subscription-only databases that are not available through Google or other free search engines.

Onsite access at your public library or State Library
Onsite access is easy - visit your local Queensland public library or the State Library of Queensland and connect using one of the onsite computers.  You may also be able to access these databases using the library's wireless service.

Offsite access
To access these databases away from the library - from any computer connected to the internet (eg home or office) - you must be a Queensland resident and: 

  • own a State Library e-services card (register for an e-services card allowing 5 days to receive your card); 
    OR
  • be a member of a Queensland public library with a QPL account (register for a QPL account - immediate access after email verification) 

Click the Connect button beside the database to begin searching. You will be asked to login using your e-services card or QPL account.  Terms and conditions apply.

A-B | C-H | I-O | P-Z

Title
Access

AHB: Australian Heritage Bibliography (formerly HERA)

This database is produced by the Australian Heritage Commission and indexes and abstracts journal articles, unpublised reports, books, and videos. Emphasis is placed on material which has been written or commissioned by government and non-government heritage organisations in Australia.

Coverage: 1987+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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AHB-ATSIS: Australian Heritage Bibliography - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Subset

Deals with natural and cultural resources of significance to Indigenous peoples of Australia. Subject coverage includes aboriginal rock art sites, ceremonial sites, historic and archaeological sites, historic towns, national parks, wilderness areas and heritage sites.

Coverage: 1987+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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AHRR: Australian Historic Records Register

Consists of diaries, letters, photographs, sketches, financial documents, recipes, minute books, and other source documents dating from settlement to 1988. Also includes a listing of historic documents held in private hands.

Coverage:
Settlement - 1988
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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APA-FT: Australian Public Affairs - Full Text Full text

APF-FT is an indexing and full-text database. Journal articles are sourced mainly from the 223+ journals comprehensively indexed in APAIS - the Australia Public Affairs Information Service. Subject coverage includes business, health, current affairs, economics, humanities, law, literature, politics and social sciences in Australia.

Coverage: Full text: 1995+; indexed: 1978+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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APAIS-ATSIS: Australian Public Affairs Information Service - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Subset

APAIS-ATSIS indexes and abstracts a wide range of material specifically relating to Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in the social sciences and the humanities, in particular, economics, the arts, history. current affairs, land rights, and culture. Abstracts include references to journal articles newspapers, government documents and conference proceedings.

Coverage: 1978+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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ARTEX

Index to Australian exhibition catalogues from 1990. Lists exhibition catalogues from public and commercial galleries in Australia. The database is no longer updated, however new listings are entered in OzBiogs.

Coverage: 1st January 1990+
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: Unlimited

 

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AUSCHRON: Chronology of Australian Historic & Current Events

AUSCHRON indexes and abstracts journal articles, books, primary source documents, and the Australian daily newspapers to chronicle significant historical events, from 1992 to the present, on a wide range of topics such as politics, the arts, history and sport. Also included are citations to documents dating back to Dutch exploration from the 1600s. This database also includes some brief biographical information on prominent figures.

Coverage: 1992+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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AustArt Index (Australian Art Journals Index)

Index to articles on Australian art and artists published in journals held by the College of Fine Arts Library at the University of NSW. The emphasis is on contemporary art.

Coverage: Updated monthly 1987+
Access: Freely available
Licence: None

 

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AUSTGUIDE

Indexing service which includes Guidelines and Education Guidelines. The subject coverage is general in scope including indexing of over 120 journals. Journals such as Time Australia, The Bulletin, Far East Economic Review, Scientific American, and Unesco Courier are some of the titles indexed.

Coverage: 1986-2006
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre Full text

Contains full text of over 240 periodicals, and abstracts/indexing for nearly 400 periodicals focusing on the Australia/New Zealand region. Includes magazines, newspapers, newswires, reference books and company information from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, Asia, North America and Europe. See the list of titles for more information.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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Australian Auction Results

Provides recent auction results from selected Australian Auction Houses for Australian artists

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: unlimited

 

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Australian Visual Arts Prizes

Provides details about major contemporary prizes for visual arts in Australia. Includes dates, prizes and contact information.

Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: single user

 

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AVAD 3

This edition contains much wider range of databases than AVAD4; only two of them (ARTEX and NATSIVAD) are updated on AVAD5.

Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: single user

CD-Rom

 Ask at the Information Desk on Level 2

PAC 2-30

CHRONICLES: The Australian Chronicles - An Index to Sources of Australian Biography

This database is of use to students, researchers and genealogists as a source for biographical information on a wide range of Australians. Source documents include Who's Who in Australia, biographical dictionaries, local histories and published family histories.

Coverage: 1879+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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Convict Fleet to Dragon Boat

A history of migration to Australia which includes personal reflections of individuals from the main migration waves. Examines peak periods of migration, reasons for these movements and their impact on the economic, social and artistic development of Australia. Features case studies of migrants and a narrative on the history of Indigenous migration to Australia.

Coverage: 1879+
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: single user

 

CD is not currently available.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online Full text

A reference site for students, educators and parents, including standard, library, student and junior editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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FNQ: The Far North Queensland Collection

Compiled by the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE Library, FNQ is an extensive bibliographic index which covers Far North Queensland including the Torres Strait, Gulf, Cape York Peninsula, and Daintree. Covers ecotourism, travel, local history, Indigenous languages legal issues, anthropology, and the environment.

Coverage: 1994- January 1999
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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Gale Virtual Reference Library Full text

Offers encyclopaedias and reference sources for research on many topics. You can access them from home twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at the State Library or your local public library. We have selected 75 titles from all subject areas, such as Ancient civilizations reference library, Novels for students and Customs of Australia. Use them for quick look ups or doing homework assignments.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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Humanities International Complete Full text

Provides full text of hundreds of journals, books and other published sources from around the world in the areas of history, language & literature, religion & philosophy, visual arts, performing arts and music. It includes all data from Humanities International Index (more than 2,000 journals and 2 million records).

Coverage: Updated regularly
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: unlimited

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INDBIO: Indian Biography Database

Provides access to biographical information on members of India's lower house (the Lok Sabha) between 1977 and 1991. Also includes death dates and citations to obituaries.

Coverage: 1977-April 1996
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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Indigenous Australia

Represents the collections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Library and covers Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander studies, Stolen generation, removal of children, Arts, copyright issues, Racism, discrimination, Internet & telecommunications facilities and Communities.

Coverage: 1968-1999
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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JSTOR Full text

JSTOR is a multidisciplinary archive of high resolution scanned scholarly journals. It is not a current issues database. Because of JSTOR's archival mission, there is a gap, from 1 to 5 years, between the most recently published journal issue and the back issues available. Subject areas covered include economics, law, history, Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies, language, literature, music, film studies, performing arts, religion and visual arts.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 4 users 

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Literature Resource Center Full text

Access biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of more than 120,000 authors from every age and literary discipline. Scribner Writer's Series includes 15-20 page signed essays on more than 1,600 authors and literary genres drawn from 13 acclaimed Scribner print series. Twayne World, US, and English Authors each contains the full text of 200 frequently used Twayne Literary Masters books on individual World, US, or English authors, for a total of 600 full-text titles.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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Media Scan

Media scan is a bibliographic database of newspaper articles from the major dailies and is intended for secondary, TAFE, and university students and researchers. Papers indexed include The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian, The Herald Sun, The Bulletin, The Courier Mail, Sunday Mail, Adelaide Advertiser and The West Australian. This is an index only.

Coverage: 1991+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

Connect

National Geographic

109 years of the National Geographic magazine on CD-Rom.

Coverage: 1888-1997
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: single user

 CD-Rom

Ask at the Information Desk on Level 2

PAC 2-30

NATSIVAD

A biographical database of Australian indigenous visual artists. Contains biographical details on more than 5,800 indigenous artists.

Coverage: varies
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: single user

 

Connect

 

Official Documents of the United Nations

Electronic repository for official documents published by the UN. The full text of documents is accessible in PDF format in all official languages of the UN. Documents are stored in two databases: UN documentation, with comprehensive coverage beginning in 1993 and selected earlier coverage, and UN resolutions, which includes the official records version of resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council since 1946.

Coverage: 1993+
Access: freely available

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OzBiogs

A compilation of all the AVAD databases. Searches across NATSIVAD, ARTEX, AustArt, additional biographies and a survey of auction results from 2004-2005. Features over 22,000 biographical and bibliographic entries for Australian artists.

Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: unlimited

Connect

 

PERIND: Periodicals Index

Produced by the National University of Singapore Library, PERIND indexes a range of journals on Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and ASEAN. Although most of the journal articles date from 1980 onwards, the articles relating to medicine date from 1975, and law dates from 1932. From mid 1997, there are references to book chapters and conference papers.

Coverage: 1980+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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SAGE: Science and Geography Education

SAGE Online is a bibliographic database indexing popular journals in a broad range of subjects. Most journals indexed are Australian but selected overseas titles are also included. It covers practically all disciplines of knowledge, though the scientific ones are most heavily represented. The scope of the SAGE online database, and the range of journals included, is determined by the needs of schools and public libraries. 

Coverage: 1984+
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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SMC: Singapore/Malaysia Collection

Compiled by the National University of Singapore Library, this resource indexes and abstracts primary source material (such as microfilmed items of public records, government documents, and manuscripts) and published works relating to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and ASEAN.

Coverage: Current to October 2006
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 5 users

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Times Digital Archive Full text

Complete digital edition of The Times (London), searchable by keyword. Database includes  all articles, advertisements and illustrations/photos divided into categories to facilitate searching.

Coverage: 1785-1985
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 3 users

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Voices from a War

This interactive CD-ROM enables users to investigate four wartime experiences: the siege of Tobruk, Libya, North Africa, 1941; the battle for Papua, July 1942-January 1943; RAF Bomber Command, Lincolnshire, England, 1943-1944; and the Sandakan-Ranau Death Marches, Borneo, 1945.

Coverage: 1941-1945
Access: onsite@slq only
Licence: single user

CD-Rom

 Available soon

Ask at the Micrographics Desk on Level 3

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More information

If you have an enquiry, you can contact us in any of the following ways:

For general enquiries:

 

Last updated: 10th September 2009

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