As would be expected with this number of educational institutions and students resources fly off our shelves at a rate of knots. The old adage "the early bird catches the worm" is particularly apt.

So what happens when all the material available for loan has been loaned? Or if you'd like information a little different to what everyone else in the class has? Two of the possibilities include the Library's Reference Section and online databases.

The Reference Section contains quality reference texts such as general encyclopedias; specialist encyclopedias on topics such as countries of the world, science, animals, music, etc.; statistics; dictionaries; and much more. As these resources are not available for loan, students must be prepared to spend the time required to research the information contained in these texts. Of course, information may be photocopied, subject to the terms of the Copyright Act 1968.

Other resources students should be using include the selection of online databases accessible from the Library's web site. All Library members have FREE access to these databases by entering their local government (Bundaberg/Burnett) and their Library card number (membership number). Choose the Online Databases link from the Reference Services page or go straight to http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/library/databases.php.

One reason these databases are invaluable to students is because quite often information on current events may only be found in newspapers and journals. It can take a while for books to be published about such topics. The Library is only able to keep 3 months worth of the major papers (with the exception of the News-Mail which is archived on microfilm) and our collection of journals (magazines) focuses on popular interest rather than academic research.

A couple of these databases (Australia/NZ Reference Centre & ProQuest) give you access to full text newspaper and journal articles from Australia and overseas. So, if the information you are looking for is not contained within the books, videos, newspapers and journals held by the Library, you have these valuable research tools at your fingertips.

The most recent edition to this suite of online databases is the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. This online database of course, provides online access to the Encyclopedia Britannica in all its forms, as well as a dictionary and thesaurus, atlas, timelines, and other useful information.

Other databases include the Health and Wellness Resource Center which provides information related to health and medicine and the Literature Resource Center which provides literature-related information including biographies.

These databases are accessible from any computer connected to the Internet. If you require assistance with these resources, I am available to assist you providing you make an appointment with me.