Sunshine Coast Library and Educational Resources

The University of the Sunshine Coast Library is integral to the institution’s goal of achieving academic excellence for its students.

Closed only during public holidays, the library has extensive print and online collections that students and staff can use for research, teaching, and making reports. In addition, the library has an Information Commons area designated to allow students to make full use of its information resources.

Students can also access the library’s electronic databases even off the campus by logging in. This helps students do research even without setting foot inside the library itself and provides convenience for those who wish to work on a certain report even till the wee hours of the morning. The databases are quite extensive and encompass wide ranges of topics designed to aid in any kind of research or reports.

The library also boasts of extensive resources that can be accessed even by the community.

The Library Catalogue can be accessed online by virtually any interested individual. The user only has to put in any information they wish to research on and a list of printed resources are given. Some are provided with online links that can further facilitate readings, while access to most is restricted to students and staff.

The library also has an E-Reserve features that provides links to readings and materials recommended for a certain course taken. These materials can then be accessed online from anywhere, at any time, to supplement the learning process. Students can avail of this feature on their own when they do research, though sometimes the course tutor or lecturer provides the necessary information for accessing the materials. Apart from logging in, this feature also needs the course code in order to gain access.

There are also online reference sources that the library offers. These sources provide links that might be needed in research and reports. Some of the  links provided are for dictionaries, grammar and composition, online journal databases that offer free access, directories, translation services for journals and compositions written in foreign languages, images, country information, statistics, referencing guides, copyright and intellectual property within Australia and of the rest of the international community, encyclopedias and factbooks, organizations within the government and international groups, Australian and international law, quotations, maps, among others.

In addition, the library also boasts of well-implemented services that students and staff can take advantage of. Research support comes in the form of online postgraduate tutorial, mediated literature searches, inter-library loans, and a whole lot of services that aim to make the research process as easy and enjoyable as possible. There is also an undergraduate online tutorial, a great help for those just getting the hang of doing extensive university-level research and reports.

The library also features the Gold Coast Research Database, where abstracts of research made by students of the University of the Sunshine Coast are made available. This database is aimed towards promoting the research profile of the university and to make the local and international community aware of the studies being made. It also provides a means for researchers to inform and get in touch with each other for future collaborations and discussions.