Statewide licensed databases
NSW.net provides all NSW public libraries with free access to a collection of databases each year. This is to ensure that libraries can offer their communities a quality set of online information resources and assist them in meeting their statutory requirements to provide free information services to their communities.
Managing statewide databases in your library
For the 2025-26 financial year, NSW.net will provide all NSW public libraries with free access to 16 statewide online databases. Public libraries can also select five optional mini subject specific powerpacks.
These databases can be used by NSW public library staff for reference service purposes and by their respective library members within the library or from home. The current collection of databases is licensed from the vendor Gale.
Find about more about managing the statewide databases in your library, including training, technical support and promotional resources.
Current statewide licenced databases
British Library Newspapers: Volume I-VII
Explore 300 years of British, Irish, and Southeast Asian newspapers - ideal for historical research and family history.
Gale Books and Authors
Gale Books and Authors is a readers’ advisory tool to recommend titles, find read-alikes, reviews, and curated lists for patrons.
Gale Business: Insights
Gale Business Insights offers global company, industry, and country data, interactive stats, reports, and articles for research.
Gale General OneFile
A general-interest resource with 14,000+ titles from 1980, featuring newspapers and magazines from around the world.
Gale Health And Wellness
Gale Health & Wellness offers trusted, easy-to-use access to medical journals, magazines, news, and multimedia for all ages.
Gale In Context: Global Issues
Gale In Context: Global Issues provides news, statistics, commentary, and reference content on 250 countries and 400+ global topics.
Gale in Context: Literature
Gale in Context: Literature offers videos, images, and texts on literary classics and diverse works, with over 300 topic pages.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Opposing Viewpoints offers diverse sources for research and debate on key social issues, from climate change to healthcare and more.
Gale in Context: Science
Science in Context offers expert resources on earth, life, space, tech, and more - for assignments, research, and discovery.
Gale In Context: World History
World History In Context provides trusted sources, multimedia, and tools to explore global history, cultures, and recent events.
Gale Interactive: Science
Gale Interactive: Science is a visual, interactive tool that helps teach science while building critical thinking and research skills.
Gale Literature Resource Center
Gale Literature Resource Center offers current, comprehensive coverage of authors and works, plus a wide range of critical analysis.
Gale OneFile: Australia and New Zealand
Access over 850 full-text publications, with news, journals, and multimedia focused on Australia and New Zealand.
Gale OneFile: News
Gale OneFile: News gives instant access to over 2,300 newspapers plus images and broadcast transcripts from around the world.
National Geographic Virtual Library
Access every National Geographic issue since 1888, plus History, Traveler, and Kids.
Smithsonian Collections Online
Smithsonian Collections Online offers access to key magazines, trade literature, world fairs, and aviation history from 1784 to today.