Collections

General Collection

The General Collection at USC Sunshine Coast and USC Fraser Coast has books and DVDs to support learning, teaching and research.

Law Collection

The Law Collection at USC Sunshine Coast on Level 1 has legal texts, legislation and cases.

Curriculum Collection

The Curriculum Collection at USC Sunshine Coast on Level 2 and USC Fraser Coast has books, teaching kits and support materials for lesson preparation.

Print Serials

There is a non-circulating print journal collection at USC Sunshine Coast.

Required readings in Reserve

A copy of texts and required readings nominated by the Course Coordinator are held in the Reserve Collection on Level 1 at USC Sunshine Coast and at USC Fraser Coast. These can be used in the Library building for two hours.

Students enrolled at USC Gympie, USC SouthBank, USC Noosa and the Sunshine Coast Health Institute (SCHI) have access to an onsite Reserve Collection.

The Reserve Collection can be searched through the Course Reserve Search. The Reserve Collection is updated at the start of each semester.

Databases

A Database is an online collection of journal articles, videos, newspapers and other information sources. The USC library subscribes to subject-specific and multidisciplinary databases.

Required readings in eReserve

e-Reserve has links to electronic versions of required readings which can be accessed online. It also links to journal articles, book chapters, or papers selected by your lecturer which are not held in USC Library databases.

e-Reserve items are accessible from the Library Catalogue (USC login required). Search for an e-Reserve item by the title of the article, chapter or website.

eBooks

Find electronic books in the Catalogue. For help finding, downloading and reading eBooks, view the Find eBooks Guide.

Online videos

Find online videos, streaming videos, lectures, interviews, documentaries and presentations in the Catalogue. Some databases also include online videos.

USC Research Bank

The USC Research Bank is the institutional research repository for the University of the Sunshine Coast. It provides an open access showcase of the University’s scholarly research output ensuring that research is made available to the local, national and international communities.

Fraser Island Archive

The Fraser Island Research Collection comprises a number of sub-collections of material related to Fraser Island, and curated by the USC Sunshine Coast Library. The collection consists of printed and digitised material including research datasets, photographs, correspondence, papers, manuscripts and reports. The John Sinclair Archival Collection, the inaugural collection within the Fraser Island Research Collection, contains archival material and photographs documenting Fraser Island from 1799 to 2000.

The focus of this collection is the research background to the Fraser Island environmental protection campaigns of the 1970s and 1990s. Material also relates to the Fraser Island Defenders Organisation, FIDO. Development of this collection is ongoing. The Fraser Island Research Collection is supported by print material in the USC Library Collection and a continuing online bibliography of published research into Fraser Island. The online bibliography is compiled through regular scanning of online research databases. Much of the collection is available online, with the restricted copies available onsite at the USC Sunshine Coast Library.

USC Herbarium

The USC Herbarium collection forms the basis for a reference collection of plants growing in our region and provides a significant resource for the University of the Sunshine Coast and regional community. Work conducted on the collation and recording of this collection is being undertaken by USC staff and students.

The collection consists of around 10,000 plant specimens, some dating back to the 1940s, and provides a valuable historical record of plant distributions. It also includes plant specimens donated by the Queensland Forestry Research Institute.

The Herbarium is being digitized and uploaded to the Virtual Herbarium which complements the existing physical collection, making it more accessible to the community.

The physical Herbarium is located on Level 1 of the USC Sunshine Coast Library in a purpose-designed room. The Virtual Herbarium can also be found through Research Data Australia.

Research Collections - Conditions of Access

Some collections have specific conditions, usually at the request of the donor. See the information for the individual Collections to ascertain their conditions of access.

Unless otherwise stated, the following conditions apply to Research Collections:    

• Research Collections material is available for use by students and staff of the University, and by members of the public, on production of adequate identification. The Library reserves the right to keep records of usage of the Collections.
• To access Research Collection material which is not available online, please email LibraryHelp@usc.edu.au in advance and indicate which items you wish to access. There may be a delay if you do not request access in advance. Only one item may be viewed at a time.
• Printed manuscript material may not leave the Reserve Room. Herbarium specimens must be viewed in the Herbarium Room. The use of Research Collections material is closely monitored.
• Fragile or manuscript material is available for consultation at the discretion of USC Library Staff, taking into account its condition and the research needs of the patron. Particular care must be taken of this material, and if necessary, protective gloves will be provided. The condition of the material is to be checked by USC Library Staff before and after use by a patron.
• Copying of print material may be permitted at the discretion of USC Library Staff, taking into account the condition of the material, and must comply with normal Copyright laws.
• Acknowledgement of the USC Library Research Collections must be made in all publications using material from any of the research collections.

For more information on conditions of access, please contact research-repository@usc.edu.au

Research Collections – Access Rights

The following categories may apply to works contained in Research Collections.

• Open Access: These works are available to be viewed, downloaded and printed by the public for non-commercial purposes only (i.e. personal research and study). Any other use requires written permission. Contact research-repository@usc.edu.au
• Restricted Access: Some works may have restrictions placed on them by the copyright owner. These works may only be accessible by authorised users. To enquire about these items, contact research-repository@usc.edu.au
• Public Domain: Items that are in the public domain can be viewed, downloaded and printed without restriction. Please attribute the USC Research Collection.

Research Collections – Copyright Information

Copyright is a legal right that gives copyright owners in works the right to control certain activities with respect to the works. Research Collection material contains rare and unique works, often with a mix of published and unpublished works. This means that the copyright status can vary. In order to facilitate access, copying and publishing, donors of special collection material are asked to enter into an agreement with USC which sets out agreed conditions under which users can use the works. USC Library Staff refer to these agreements when determining how you may use works in a particular collection.

Research Collections - Copyright Infringement Notification

We have made every reasonable effort to ensure that works included in USC Research Collections are either free of copyright or that copyright permissions have been obtained.

If you believe that the inclusion of a work in a USC Research Collection constitutes copyright infringement or a breach of an agreed license or contract, please contact research-repository@usc.edu.au providing sufficient information for our investigation and response.

Facts Online

Facts Online are links to selected electronic reference tools, including:

• calculators
• dictionaries
• encyclopaedias
• grammar
• statistics
• translation
• weather