The OESR provides a whole lot more than just general statistics, but for the purposes of this article, general statistics are what will be focused on. You have access to Queensland statistics, Census Bulletins, Local Government Area (LGA) profiles, regional and community profiles, crime profiles, Queensland State Accounts, and much more.

There is so much information available at the OESR site, it is just mind-boggling. Despite this, the site is clearly set out and easily navigable. Just as importantly, all the information on it is in easily accessible formats - HTML and Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Several tabs at the top of the page direct you to broad categories of information available. The two of most interest to Library users will probably be 'Queensland Statistics' and 'Regional Statistics', although 'Queensland Economy' may also be of interest to some.

In the Queensland Statistics area you can browse through topics such as agriculture, crime, employment, health, education, housing, Indigenous, mining, society, transport, and more. You can find out such interesting facts as the number of Internet access lines in Queensland as at the March Quarter 2003 rose 39.5% since the September Quarter 2002.

Under the Regional Queensland tab you can browse local government area profiles (eg, Bundaberg City, Burnett Shire), regional profiles (eg, Wide Bay-Burnett), community profiles, crime profiles, and so on. This is where you go if you are trying to gather general statistics at the very local level. For example, if you are after statistics just on Bundaberg, you can choose the Local Government Area (LGA) Profiles link and then follow instructions to choose Bundaberg from the list of local governments, and then to view the data.

If you wish to canvas statistics for a wider area, say inclusive of Bundaberg City, Burnett Shire, Kolan and Isis Shire, then following the same LGA Profiles link, you choose each LGA you are interested in and ask for the data to be displayed. What will then be displayed is a snapshot of statistical information about that region collectively. If you wish to compare/contrast different LGAs then you will have to look at each LGA separately.

Did you know that between 1996 and 2001 Bundaberg City's population has grown, but that its population as a percentage of the whole of Queensland has fallen? In 1996 Bundaberg had 43,562 citizens, which made up 1.3% of Queensland's population. In 2001 we had 44,670 citizens or 1.2% of Queensland's population.

The OESR site is great for those interested in this sort of data. If you have trouble using it, please make an appointment with me and I will be happy to assist you in using the site to locate statistics. If the OESR does not publish the statistics you are looking for, they are more than willing to assist you over the phone.