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State Library of Queensland  >  Find...  >  Databases  >  Offsite  >  Reference

Reference

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

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.

Title

Access

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Full text

The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides access to census data, demography statistics, migration, population, health, labour force and a select number of other ABS statistical publications. The full text of these publications can be found via the link on the main page to 'Publications' which can be browsed by subject or by publication number.

Coverage: variable
Access:
freely available
Licence: unlimited

Connect

African American Music Reference Full text

Offers the first comprehensive coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of black American musical expression. This release includes 4,300 essays and images from 125 sources, over 34,497 pages. You can also access African American Music Reference through the Music Online interface.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 20 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.

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

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Classical Music Reference Library Full text

Brings together more than 40,000 pages of essential reference materials, including Baker's Dictionary of Music, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, and Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music. Comprehensive coverage of all classical genres, spanning music from Medieval to the 21st century, with definitions of musical terms and extensive biographical information. In addition there are biographies, chronologies, primary source readings, critical texts, full text from other major reference works, biographical information, score and lyric excerpts, musical and notational terms, and photographs and images of people, instruments, and ensembles.

Coverage: variable
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 20 users

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Directory of Australian Associations

The ultimate guide to Australian associations. With more than 5,500 entries the Directory of Australian Associations covers national and state associations, foundations, marketing bodies, institutes and committees. Also included are international associations with branches in Australia.

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

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Encyclopedia Britannica Online  Full text

A reference site for students, educators, and parents synthesising editorially reviewed websites and the Encyclopedia 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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Encyclopedia of Popular Music Full text

The online version of Colin Larkin's critically acclaimed 10-volume The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th edition, is available through Oxford Music Online. Featuring a broad musical scope covering popular music of all genres and periods from 1900 to the present day, including jazz, country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals, and world music, the Encyclopedia also offers thousands of additional entries covering popular music genres, trends, styles, record labels, venues, and music festivals.

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

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Europa World Plus Full text

Europa World Plus is the online version of the Europa World Year Book and the Europa Regional Surveys of the World series.  Find political, economic and statistical information about more than 250 countries. Statistical profiles are available for a single country or comparative statistics can be generated for a range of topics including population, health, agriculture, industry, finance and trade across two or more countries.

Coverage: updated daily
Access: online@slq + offsite access for e-services members and QPL account holders
Licence: unlimited

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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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Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Full text

The first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world’s peoples. This is the online version of 10 print volumes first published in 1997. It comprising more than 9,000 pages of material, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, with hundreds of audio examples. This is the most complete body of work focused on world music.

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

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Macquarie Dictionary Full text

The Macquarie Dictionary is regarded as the standard reference on Australian English, providing access to the Macquarie Dictionary Fifth Edition and the latest edition of the Macquarie Thesaurus. It provides comprehensive and interactive searching of over 121,000 headwords and phrases and over 210,000 definitions and encyclopedic entries, etymologies for phrases, and illustrative material from Ozcorp.
 
Coverage: Updated annually
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited

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Margaret Gee's Media Guide

Margaret Gee's Australian Media Guide is a directory of the major Australian media outlets, including: television and radio stations; internet media; newspapers, newsletters, and magazines; and press agencies. It includes profiles and contact listings as well as circulation figures, publication details and base advertising rates.

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

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Oxford Companion to the Book Full text

This is the authoritative resource on all aspects of the book from ancient to modern times.  It contains over 5,000 entries written by the world’s best scholars in bibliography and book history & more than forty substantial essays. These are on subjects ranging from writing systems and the medieval book through to topics such as the electronic book and can be found by searching or browsing on the word “essay”.

Coverage: ancient times to the present
Access: online@slq + offsite access for e-services members and QPL account holders
Licence: unlimited users

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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Full text

The most authoritative biographical dictionary of British people, containing more than 57,000 entries. Included are noteworthy people in any walk of life who were connected with the British Isles or British history worldwide.

Coverage:  4th century B.C. onwards.  Does not include living people.
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: 9 users

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Oxford English Dictionary Full text

The Oxford English Dictionary is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, providing the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words from across the English speaking world. This resource provides present day meanings, as well as the history of individual words, and of the language, traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature to films scripts and cookery books.

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

 Connect

Oxford Language Dictionaries Online Full text

Contains the online equivalent of the top-range language dictionaries of Oxford University Press for English/French, English/German, English/Italian,English/Russian and English/Spanish, plus an English/Chinese dictionary which is equivalent to the pocket version. There is also a quick translation tool for words in 13 languages. A virtual keyboard allows entry of characters in a range of scripts.

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

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Oxford Music Online Full text

Formerly known as Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online includes the full text of Grove Music Online, the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, the Oxford Companion to Music and the Oxford Dictionary of Music. It covers the entire history of music from Bach to the Blues, with broad coverage of musical styles. Includes biographies, sound archives, illustrations and links to music internet sites.
Info Guide 9.12 How to use Oxford Music Online [new window  537 kb]

Coverage: updated annually
Access: online@slq + offsite access for e-services members and QPL account holders
Licence: 3 users

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Oxford Reference Online Premium Collection Full text

A comprehensive resource that contains over 175 dictionaries and reference titles covering the complete subject spectrum: from general reference and language to science and medicine, and from humanities and social sciences to business and professional. 

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

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Who’s Who in Australia

Biographical information about notable Australians from all walks of life, including business, politics, sports, academia and the arts. Also includes biographies of Australians who have received the Star of Courage for acts of selfless bravery, and a list of Australian Nobel prize winners.

Coverage: Currently living persons only. Content updated daily.
Access: onsite@slq + offsite access for e-services members and Queensland public library (QPL) account holders
Licence: unlimited users

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Who’s Who in Business in Australia

Comprehensive, detailed information about Australian companies, including company subsidiaries, key personnel, statistics and share information. Search by company name, personal name, ASX code or industry sector.
NOTE: you will need to select the 'Who's Who in Business in Australia' link located near the top of the screen.

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

Connect

Find more offsite access databases in other subject areas.

Access all of State Library's onsite and offsite access databases.

More information

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Last updated: 9th January 2012

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