eResources

The Australian Dictionary of Biography tells the stories of more than 13,500 significant and representative persons in Australian history who passed away before 1996.

Managed and edited by staff at the National Centre of Biography at the Australian National University.

Country briefs provides information about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of almost 240 countries, regions and economies.

From the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Cultural Atlas is an educational resource providing comprehensive information on the cultural background of Australia’s migrant populations. The aim is to improve social cohesion and promote inclusion in an increasingly culturally diverse society.

The Cultural Atlas is a collaborative project between Mosaica, SBS, and Multicultural NSW.

City of Melville Library members have access to a great selection of eBooks, eAudiobooks, and more, including new releases from bestselling authors - all free with your library card.

Visit our eLibrary page to get started.

Recommended reads from our team! Browse our recommendations for adults, kids and teens, read staff book review, or request a tailored reading list just for you.

Good Reading is your guide to the literary world. Whether you’re interested in new releases, fiction reads, crime books or you’re looking for your latest book club pick, Good Reading will keep you up-to-date with all the latest book news.

The hardcopy edition of Good Reading Magazine is also available in our libraries.

Fantastic Fiction allows you to search and browse the complete works of over 70,000 bestselling fiction authors, with all the latest books and series listed in order.

Whichbook gives you a new way to find your next read. Skip the usual author or genre searches and instead browse by mood, character and plot, or start your search with a familiar bestseller to find another book with a similar feel.

Library members can access exact digital replicas of popular, up-to-date papers and magazines including:

• Today’s edition and back issues of The Age, The Australian Financial Review, and The Sydney Morning Herald
• Yesterday’s edition and back issues of The West Australian and The Sunday Times
• Popular magazines like The New Yorker, The Week, National Geographic, Women’s Weekly and many more.

Check out the eMagazines and eNewspapers section of our eLibrary for more information.

Trove's digitised Australian newspapers include numerous historical Australian newspapers published between 1803 to 1955.

The Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program aims to make as many Australian newspapers as possible published prior to 1955 freely available online through Trove. 

The Herald website offers local, independent news through current digital editions of the Melville City Herald, Fremantle Herald, and Perth Voice, plus a searchable article archive dating back to 2012.

PerthNow Digital Editions provides access to an exact digital copy of PerthNow Melville (previously known at the Melville Gazette) or any other weekly suburban newspaper published by Seven West Media since August 2021.

The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.

Owned by Cochrane and published by Wiley. 

The Cochrane Library available to Australian residents at no cost, thanks to funding from the Australian Government, administered by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Healthdirect offers trusted health information and advice online and over the phone (1800 022 222), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Healthdirect is a government-funded service.

Inside Radiology is an Australasian resource containing up-to-date information about radiology (diagnostic imaging) tests and procedures that you or a family member may require.

From the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).

Pathology Tests Explained (PTEx) is an Australasian site designed to help you better understand any one of the hundreds of lab tests used to screen, diagnose or monitor illness and disease.

PTEx is managed by a consortium of medical and scientific organisations.

Library members can access CHOICE Magazine through Flipster and its app. You'll find more information on our eLibrary page.

The Product Safety website is dedicated to protecting you from unsafe products. You can search and view all recalls, report unsafe products, and subscribe to receive recall alerts.

From the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Scamwatch provides current information to help you spot and avoid scams, plus advice on what to do if you’ve been scammed, and the ability to report suspicious activity to help stop scammers and protect others.

Part of the ACCC’s National Anti-Scam Centre.

The National Construction Code (NCC) is Australia’s primary set of technical design and construction provisions for buildings. The NCC sets the minimum required level for the safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability of certain buildings.

Produced and maintained by the Australian Building Codes Board.

Western Australian Legislation allows you to read up-to-date copies of W.A. acts and regulations.

From the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.

Standards Australia 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 for Australian residents.

You will need to create a free Standards Australia account to access Reader Room.

Be Connected is an Australian government initiative committed to increasing the confidence, skills and online safety of older Australians.

You'll find courses on everything from how to access the internet, to using your device and keeping in touch with others online.

eSafety is aimed at helping all Australians have safe, positive experiences online. You’ll find information to help you manage online safety issues, and this website allows you to report online abuse such as cyber-bullying and image-based abuse.

From the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.

LearnFree is a free online resource dedicated to helping you learn essential skills for living and working in the 21st century. From computer and job skills, to reading, maths and more.

Cyber.gov.au is Australia's central hub for cyber security advice, threat alerts, and cybercrime reporting.

From the Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC).

Ancestry Library Edition provides access to thousands of genealogy databases, including:

• U.K. census returns (1841-1911)
• Australian electoral rolls (1903-1980)
• U.S. census returns and much more.

Unlike our other eResources, Ancestry is available for in-library use only. It can be accessed by connecting to our free Wi-Fi (melvillewifi) or using one of our public computers.

Note: Ancestry Library Edition differs from a personal Ancestry subscription. It does not include personalised features like creating family trees, DNA services or mobile apps.

FamilySearch is a free genealogy website which provides access to billions of digitised historical records including birth, death, marriage, census, and more. You’ll need to create a free account to search the database.

FamilySearch is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

FreeBMD provides searchable access to the Civil Registration Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMD) for England and Wales. 

FreeBMD is a volunteer project to transcribe the index for the period from July 1837 through to the 1990s. It’s an ongoing project and not all records have been transcribed yet.

Mango makes language learning fun. Lessons focus on practical, common conversation skills and includes instructions on vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and culture. 

There are courses in 72 languages, plus English lessons customised for speakers of 21 native languages. 

How to get started with Mango Languages

First, create your profile:

• Visit our Mango Languages link and click Sign Up 
• Enter your email address, library card number, PIN, and create a password
• Click Sign Up and agree to the Data Consent Form.

Prefer not to sign up? That's okay - visit the website and click Use Mango as a Guest to start learning straight away. You'll still need to enter your library card number and PIN, and your progress won't be saved.

Using the Mango Languages app

• Download the Mango Languages app from the App Store or Google Play
• Open the app and tap Login
• Sign in using the email address and password you used to create your profile.

Note: There is no guest option in the Mango app, but you can tap Get Started Free to try your first lesson before signing up and linking your library card.

Looking for resources to help you improve your English language skills? Check out our Learn English page.

Past ATAR Course Examinations provides access to previous years’ ATAR course exams, including examination papers and their marking keys.

Provided by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.

Clue Detective Puzzle Agency provides online access to Codeword, Sudoku, and Crossword puzzles.

Discover the benefits of puzzling for lifelong learning, health and wellbeing.

ConnectSci News is a digital science news platform offering editorially independent, fact-based articles on the latest scientific research and discoveries. It also serves as the new home for the online archives of Cosmos Magazine.

From CSIRO Publishing.

Grow It Local is an online Australian resource hub teaching people how to grow produce at home (or anywhere). Endorsed by experts and top gardening personalities such as Paul West and Costa Georgiadis.

City of Melville residents can sign up for a free Grow it Local Community membership to access additional benefits.

Renew and Sanctuary are Australian magazines full of information about living a sustainable lifestyle and sustainable housing. 

Published by Renew Australia, library members can access the digital editions for free through OverDrive and Libby.

Your Home is Australia’s independent guide to designing, building or renovating homes to ensure they are energy efficient, comfortable, affordable and adaptable for the future.

If you want to know more about buying, building, renovating or living in sustainable homes, Your Home can help.

From the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Switch Your Thinking is a local government initiative that inspires sustainable action in the community, with a strong focus on reducing greenhouse emissions and making more sustainable choices.

Free Energy Audit kits are available to borrow from our libraries thanks to Switch Your Thinking.

Can't find an item on the City of Melville Libraries catalogue? Fill out an interlibrary loan request and we'll try to source it for you.

Interested to see what other libraries have available? Check out their catalogues below.

Local public libraries

• City of Canning Libraries (Branches in Bentley, Queens Park, Riverton and Willetton)
• City of Cockburn Libraries (Branches in Coolbellup, Spearwood and Success)
• City of Fremantle Library
• City of South Perth (Branches in Manning and South Perth)

Statewide

• Combined State Library of WA and public libraries catalogue

Nationwide

• Trove (includes Libraries Australia)

Worldwide

• WorldCat

Ebook Central provides access to 406 non-fiction eBook titles owned by the State Library of Western Australia (SLWA).

SLWA membership is required to access Ebook Central. Membership is free and available to all WA residents, join online or contact SLWA for more information.