Databases Information

A database's coverage can include many subjects, such as Academic Search Premier, or specialize like Small Engine Repair.

A database may contain a copy of an entire article (full-text), a brief summary (abstract), a citation or even videos.

The Ocean County Library subscribes to over one hundred online databases, most of which can be accessed from within our branches or remotely from any computer with internet access.

A great deal of information on the Internet is not available through a free search using Google, Bing, or other search engines. The Ocean County Library subscribes to electronic database subscriptions so that our patrons may have access to online information that has been reviewed and edited by knowledgeable sources. Some databases are geared towards specific subjects, others towards certain age groups like children or teens; all are meant to inform, entertain and assist you as you explore the world online.

You can save a lot of money. There are resources that if you subscribe to as an individual will cost hundreds of dollars a year to use but accessing them with your library card is free. Save money by using these resources through your library card instead of purchasing them from the company with your own credit card: Rosetta Stone, Mango Languages, ValueLine, Morningstar, Universal Class, Gale Legal Forms (a licensed version of US Legal Forms), BrainFuse, Foundation Directory, Galves Auto Price List, Ancestry Library Edition (not all the same features as regular subscription Ancestry), Kovel’s Antique and Collectible Directory Online, and Westlaw.

Yes, with just a few exceptions. Companies that produce some databases will not allow remote access through library or institutional subscriptions.

The exceptions in the Ocean County Library collection that can only be used in library locations are: ABC Mouse – Library Edition, Ancestry Library Edition, Foundation Directory, Galves Auto Price List, Kovel’s Antique and Collectibles Price Guide, New Jersey Property Records, and Westlaw .

Yes. These databases are meant to be used by all Ocean County residents so you will need an Ocean County Library card. Login procedures vary by database but entering the fourteen digit barcode on the back of your library card is necessary to access.

Sometimes your email address is required to create your free account at the resource. Every login after that is with your email account and a password you create instead of your library card number. These are usually databases where tracking your progress in their lessons is important like Mango Languages or Universal Class. Other databases will never ask for your email.

Visit any of Ocean County Library’s 21 locations with proof that you live in any town in Ocean County except Beach Haven. You will be issued a free card after filling out a short application. More details on who is eligible for a free card, obtaining a temporary fee based card for short-term or summer visitors, and other questions about library cards can be found here.

All databases and resources can be used in library locations without a library card. The lessons in the language learning databases that teach proper pronunciation require speaking out loud into a microphone. To avoid disturbing other patrons these particular lessons cannot be accessed inside library buildings.

Due to contractual agreements, certain databases are only accessible through the library staff or at certain locations

The Ocean County Library does its best to select databases that will be both conveniently available and informative.

Some companies that may provide institutional subscriptions to libraries or businesses also sell individual subscriptions for home access. These companies see remote access for library users as competing with their individual subscription business so do not offer it.

If you have difficulty in accessing a database, please contact your local branch reference service by phone, email, chat, or text us with your situation. We will do our best to troubleshoot and if necessary contact the company providing the service to find a solution.

Some services require not only a library card number, but that the account is active and in good standing. Access to OverDrive, BrainFuse, and Hoopla can be denied if the library card number is connected to an expired account or to an account with fines and fees of more than $25.00.

Contracts with Who’s Who by Marquis allow a specific number of simultaneous users before additional sign ins are blocked. We recommend waiting several moments before attempting to log back in. If this problem persists, please contact your local branch and alert them of the situation.

Most databases and resources are accessible to customers who have library cards under reciprocal agreements with Monmouth County Library and Burlington County Library. Hoopla and BrainFuse are the exceptions in that they are not accessible to reciprocal library card customers.

Some popular magazines are available through Zinio which releases issues digitally very close or even before the paper version appears on the newsstand.

Some very few magazines in other databases like Masterfile Premiere have contractual agreements with the publishers requiring a waiting period to view certain periodicals. Publishers may wish to hold back recent issues of their periodicals from electronic databases, since the immediate release of the publications to databases might reduce the sale of the print periodicals. Periodicals can be withheld from electronic databases for a period of time ranging from a week to several months or even over a year, depending upon the publication.

Availability of Consumer Reports through Masterfile Premiere is no longer subject to a waiting period online.

It is left up to the publishers’ discretion which publications are available in full-text and which are not.

Publishers also decide which publications will include reprint images, graphics and photographs.

Many databases enable you to save, print, and email individual articles or citations that you have selected. We recommend reading the Help or About section whenever you are in doubt regarding a particular database’s features.

You should always get clarification from your teacher regarding the use of electronic resources. Ocean County Library feels that materials from the subscription databases provided through the library’s website are equal and often identical to material published in paper.

We will gladly fill out our “It’s not the Internet, it’s the Library Online” form for any student to submit to their teacher when use of library subscription database material might be questioned.

Most research databases have added citation tools to help students and researchers properly cite sources found through the databases.

Gale Virtual Reference Library, Access Video on Demand, Facts on File, and Academic Search Premiere are just some of the resources that have tools that instantly create citations in various formats (APA, MLA, etc.)

For further assistance, please call your local branch’s reference desk or contact an OCL librarian via email, chat, or text.