Use these databases from home for your research or assignments! Log in with your library card number (printed on the back of your Library card) or join online for a temporary login.
Britannica Library
The go-to reference resource for all ages. Users can conduct research, work on projects, or explore their unique interests. Britannica Library has 3 levels optimised for different age groups – Children, Teens and Adults.
Central Coast Memories
Explore collections of historical photos from around the Central Coast. View maps and aerial photographs or listen to oral histories of the area.
Gale Business Insights: Global
Compare global economies, countries, and industries with in-depth analysis on over 400,000 companies
Gale General OneFile
Access general interest magazines and key serials in a single resource. Great for general research!
Gale Health and Wellness Resource Centre
Find accurate, up-to-date information on health and medicine. Gale Health and Wellness offers access to full-text medical journals, magazines, reference works, multimedia, and much more.
Gale in Context: Biography
A database of biographical information on the world’s most influential people, Biography is built on a foundation of more than 600,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study.
Gale in Context: Environmental Studies
From climate change to automobile emissions, today’s environmental issues determine the destiny of tomorrow’s world. Gale in Context: Environmental Studies provides users with comprehensive information on topics such as Earth systems, pollution, populations, and more.
Gale in Context: Global Issues
Analyse important global issues and events through topic overviews, international viewpoints, news, and multimedia content. Explore issues within government, law, health, science, technology and more.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is the premier online resource covering today's hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration to marijuana. This cross-curricular resource supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes.
Gale in Context: Science
Gale in Context: Science is an engaging resource that provides contextual information on hundreds of today's most significant science topics. Integrating millions of full-text articles, 200+ science experiments, 300+ interactive simulations, and top reference content, Science covers topics across the curriculum, including biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, physics, and more.
Gale in Context: World History
Gale in Context: World History reaches back to the ancient world—and forward to today's headlines—to deliver a chronicle of the people, cultures, events, and societies that have formed the history of the human race.
Gale Interactive Science
Dive deep into science concepts with Gale Interactive, a visual tool that helps instructors teach complex topics in biology, chemistry, human anatomy, and earth/space science. Interactive tools allow users to zoom, rotate, and explore 3D models to engage with science beyond static text.
Gale Literature – Books and authors
Discover your next great read with Gale Books and Authors! This database contains book recommendations, reviews, author biographies and much more.
Gale Literature Resource Centre
A comprehensive, reliable online literature resource, offering the broadest and most representative range of authors and their works, including a deep collection of full-text critical and literary analysis for literary studies.
Gale OneFile: Australia and New Zealand
Access comprehensive periodical content with a focus on Australia and New Zealand, complemented by global news, reference, and multimedia coverage.
Gale OneFile: Culinary Arts
Find a variety of information from major cooking and nutrition magazines as well as key reference titles.
Gale OneFile: Gardening and Horticulture
For Green Thumbs of all levels! Gale OneFile: Gardening and Horticulture serves horticultural enthusiasts with more than 3.6 million articles from more than 100 journals, as well as more than 20 reference titles.
Gale OneFile: Home Improvement
Search home improvement topics such as architectural techniques, material selection, and more.
Gale OneFile: Hospitality and Tourism
Discover well-rounded coverage of both the historical and current state of affairs in the hospitality and tourism industries.
Gale OneFile: Information Science
Access articles covering all aspects of managing and maintaining information and technology.
Gale OneFile: News
Gale OneFile: News provides access to more than 2,300 major world newspapers (493 Australian Newspapers), and includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
Haynes Motor Manuals
Haynes Manuals AllAccess is a library of manuals covering a range of car and motorcycle makes and models, with up-to-date content including common repairs, routine maintenance, and servicing procedures.
National Geographic Kids
Explore amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space. Best for children aged 6–14.
National Geographic Virtual Library
National Geographic Virtual Library offers access to the complete archive of National Geographic magazine — every page of every issue — along with a cross-searchable collection of books, maps, images, and videos.
NoveList Plus
Find your next great read with NoveList Plus, a database of books and authors for avid readers! Great for creating reading lists for all ages, including children and teenagers.
The following databases are available for use within Library branches only
Ancestry Library Edition
Available at all library branches – please see staff for assistance logging in
Ancestry is one of the most important genealogical collections available today. It has unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada, Europe, Australia, and other areas of the world!
British Newspaper Archive
Available at all library branches – please see staff for assistance logging in
The British Newspaper Archive is a partnership between the British Library and findmypast to digitise up to 40 million newspaper pages from the British Library's vast collection.
Choice Magazine
Available at all library branches – please see staff for assistance logging in
Provides member access to full text, premium articles from Choice - the consumer magazine. Please ask staff for assistance with logging in.
Find My Past
Available at all library branches
Find My Past is a family history website containing millions of historical records covering Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands. Records include Births, deaths & marriages, Census records, Cemetery records, Probate, land & court records, Military records, Migration records and more.
State Library of NSW Reference eResources
Central Coast Library members can use their library card to access the State Library’s huge range of reference eResources.
Firstly, register your Central Coast card with the State Library.
Once registered, you can use it to log into State Library NSW eResources.
Useful Websites
Australian Standards
Reader Room - Australian Standards for non-commercial use
Reader Room is an initiative by Standards Australia which provides limited, no-fee access to the entire catalogue of Australian Standards for non-commercial purposes. Users of Reader Room will be provided with three tokens annually which will allow them to access available individual standards for 24 hours at a time, at no cost.
Books
Fantastic Fiction
Discover new book titles, authors and lists of award-winning reads.
Goodreads
Deciding what to read next? Goodreads contains a huge range of book reviews and lists to help you get started.
Computers and Technology
Digital Learn
Short self-paced video courses covering basic computer skills. Presented by the American Public Library Association.
GCF Learn Free online technology training
Intimidated by computers? New to email or the web? Want to stay safe online or understand how your operating system works? Learn all of this and more.
Tech Savvy Seniors
Short video courses on topics such as smartphones, tablets, computer basics and Zoom. Tech Savvy Seniors in NSW is funded by the NSW Government, and is a digital literacy training program designed to help seniors develop the skills and confidence to get connected and participate in the online world.
Environment
Central Coast Waterways
Explore information about the Central Coast’s waterways, including a range of learning tools, from interactive books to virtual tours.
State of the Environment
A report on all aspects of the Australian environment and includes sections on atmosphere, biodiversity, coasts and oceans, human settlements, inland waters, land, and natural and cultural heritage.
Health
Better Health Channel
Looking for up to date health information? This easy-to-read site is produced by the State Government of Victoria.
Drug Info
Information on drugs and alcohol provided by the State Library of NSW.
Law
The Australian Legal Information Institute (AUSTLII)
The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) provides free internet access to Australasian legal materials including primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals) and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access (law reform and royal commission reports for example).
Federal Register of Legislation
The Federal Register of Legislation is the approved, whole-of-government website for Australian Government legislation and related documents. This free website can be accessed anywhere.
Find Legal Answers
Find Legal Answers provides free access to legal information online and in NSW public libraries. Co-ordinated by the State Library of NSW.
The Law Handbook
The Law handbook is the single most important plain English guide to the law in NSW. It provides a practical guide to 40 legal topics – legal issues which affect people in their everyday lives.
NSW Case Law
Decisions of New South Wales Courts and Tribunals
NSW Legislation
NSW Acts and Regulations.