State Library Victoria members can access hundreds of databases from home (if your home is in Victoria). That’s millions of articles, magazines, archives, ebooks, videos, songs, audiobooks and more, available through the catalogue anytime. We’re taking a closer look at new and/or interesting databases as well as hidden gems from our collections. Read on for top picks and tips from Librarians.

Not a member yet? Sign up online first and reward your curiosity.

Today we are looking at our multi-subject category.

If you are not sure where to start, or there are too many subjects to choose from, we have a multi-subject category in our A-Z Databases menu.

The mix includes journal and newspaper articles, primary sources, encyclopaedias, ebooks, reference works and more. A toe in the water here can help you get a sense of the types of material available — which you can then pursue in more specialised databases if necessary.

JSTOR

JSTOR is a wonderful place to start — the database includes a strong collection of older materials, as well as up-to-date information. Chiefly covering the humanities and social sciences, as well as text-based materials, there are a variety of formats including video, audio and images.

Informit

Informit, a version of which you may also know as APAIS (Australian Public Affairs Information Service), focuses on Australian content. APAIS was published in print from 1945-2013 by the National Library, and the Library holds those heritage volumes. As well as journal articles, conference papers and reports, the database includes video and audio content. Where we don’t have full text articles, we often hold the hard copy or can direct you to a library that does. You can also search individual Informit databases, and across a variety of Informit indexes.

Newspapers article search

Our diverse online newspapers collection can be accessed through individual and subject listings in A-Z Databases — but from this point you can also access the Newspapers article search. This pulls together many of our databases to explore at once, plus we have developed some more focused searches — listed below as ‘Featured newspaper searches’. From the web page, just click on the link to go through to your search of choice. One thing to note is that page images of the paper, including advertisements — as opposed to text-only articles — is often only available for more recent years.

Adam Matthew (AM) Cross search

If you are looking for primary sources, and illustrative material such as maps, photographs, drawings, or original documents, then the Adam Matthew (AM) Cross Search is worth investigating. A diverse array of content traversing the 15th century to the late 20th century, this database covers trade, society, drama, children’s literature, as well as archival collections.

Encyclopaedias and dictionaries

The Oxford Reference Online collection includes dictionary and encyclopaedia-style entries; again a vast array of subjects and options to search or browse. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online is also included in this listing.

For younger researchers, Britannica Kids is a good place to start. This children’s version of Encyclopaedia Britannica is both searchable, and arranged by topic. For older students, explore our VCE guides.

So, the above is but a tiny sample of our online offering — I hope enough to pique your interest — so you can start exploring.