Database Access for Alumni and Community Members

Community members and alumni can use any of the library's research databases from within the library building. For home access to research databases, use NC Live or the free databases listed below.

NC LIVE Databases

NC LIVE offers research database access, articles, eBooks, newspapers, streaming videos, language learning tools, and more to anyone with a library card from a North Carolina public library.

App State alumni can get a 10-day pass to access NC LIVE even if they do not have a public library card. After 10 days, alumni will be directed to sign up for permanent access through a public library card.

Free Research Databases

The following research databases are available for free on the web. Alumni and other community members can access them from home.

  • Includes citations for recources relating to all aspecs of agriculture, materials acquired by the National Agriculture Library (NAL) and cooperating institutions.
  • Provides access to census and survey data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas.
  • ArchiveGrid connects you with primary source material held in archives, special collections, and manuscript collections around the world.
  • BASE is a multi-disciplinary search engine for academically relevant OAI (Open Archives Initiative) sources worldwide.
  • Searchable database of references to ~25,000 scholarly works on slavery and slaving, worldwide and throughout human history, including modern times.
  • Bibliography of scholarly writing about the history of western art.
  • Official U.K. government documents.
  • The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) promotes a better understanding of the U.S. economy by providing relevant and accurate economic accounts data in an objective and cost-effective manner.
  • The Bureau of Justice Statistics collects, analyzes, and publishes information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
  • Federal resource on labor economics and statistics.
  • Publications, briefs, and reports from U.S. Census Bureau experts, along with access to data tools.
  • Materials from the annual Annotated Chaucer Bibliography.
  • Codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the U.S. Government.
  • Provides bibliographic information on major computer science journals and proceedings.
  • Federal legislative information including bills, resolutions, activity in Congress, Congressional Record, schedules and calendars, committee information, Presidential nominations, and treaties.
  • An annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry.
  • The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Index of literature and research from 1926 to the present that informs teaching, learning, and future directions of research in the field of dance education.
  • Offers a searchable collection of public records concerning enslavement.
  • Brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
  • Digital versions of primary sources from cultural heritage institutions around North Carolina.
  • Dimensions is a linked research knowledge system that re-imagines discovery and access to research.
    Access note: To access full content, register for a personal account.
  • Full-text articles from scientific and scholarly open access journals.
  • Provides a detailed portrait of the United States' economy once every five years, from the national to the local level.
  • All recorded English monographs printed between 1475 and 1700 are now represented in the file, as are eighty percent of the recorded serials titles for the period 1620-1800.
    Access note: Temporarily unavailable (see https://www.bl.uk/).
  • Online, self-paced course for determining whether starting a business is right for you.
  • The Envirofacts Multisystem Query integrates information from a variety of databases and includes latitude and longitude information.
  • Theses produced by UK higher education.
    Access note: Temporarily unavailable (see https://www.bl.uk/).
  • FRED® is a database of over 267,000 economic time series from 80 sources.
  • Covers journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages.
  • Contains the full text of 7,407 U.S. Supreme Court Decisions issued between 1937 and 1975.
  • A register of written sources used by Anglo-Saxon authors.
  • Allows you to create, customize, and share geographical maps of data found in FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data).
  • A search tool for lithologic and geochronologic unit names. Provides the lexicon of geologic names of the United States.
  • The sole repository for statistics on the external debt of developing countries, with data for 135 individual countries that report to the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System.
  • Use Google Scholar through the library to be automatically linked to the full text of articles we own.
  • Information products produced by the federal government. Most databases date back to 1994, with digitized historical content dating back to 1793. Includes FDsys and GPO Monthly Catalog.
  • Find information and links about your legal rights, the law, the courts, legal forms and more.
  • The Lens ingests, cleans, aggregates, normalizes and serves over 225 million scholarly works, 127 million global patent records, and 370 million patent sequences.
  • Holdings for Appalachian State, UNC-Asheville, and Western Carolina University.
  • Common diseases and conditions, health promotion and wellness, drugs info, medical dictionaries, and more.
  • Guide to prescription and over-the-counter medications, herbs, and supplements.
  • Brinda información sobre enfermedades y condiciones comunes, promoción de la salud y el bienestar, información sobre medicamentos, diccionarios médicos y otros.
  • Medical information on disorders, symptoms, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. For medical professionals and students.
  • Data and anaysis related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
  • The mission of the NCHS is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people.
  • Digital collection of knowledge and scholarship from UNC system schools.
  • Online guide to quality health and medical information and local health services throughout North Carolina.
  • NC Health Info tiene por objetivo ayudarlo a tomar decisiones informadas sobre atención médica.
  • Journal articles, reports, and government studies about English language instruction.
  • Information about North Carolina, its history, people, government, and educational institutions.
  • Employment tools for job seekers in North Carolina. Search jobs, create résumés, find education and training.
  • Index to the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper for the years 1926-1992. The newspaper content is located in the microforms section on the lower level of Belk Library.
  • A free, online scholarly edition of six nineteenth-century periodicals and newspapers.
  • These collections contain over 158,000 historic and recent photographs, state government publications, manuscripts, and other resources on topics related to North Carolina.
  • Provides access to NC statutes and session laws, bills and legislation, committee assignments, audio broadcasts of House and Senate sessions, the legislative calendar, and a citizen guide.
  • Comprehensive, online collection of historic maps of the Tar Heel State.
  • Index of over 60 journals and magazines published in North Carolina.
  • Provides access to current and historic publications produced by North Carolina state government.
  • Contains records of digital resources from open-archive collections worldwide.
  • Specifics on various jobs and careers, including working conditions, educational or training requirements, pay, and future outlook.
  • Free, open textbooks for college courses
  • Find ebooks from libraries across the country.
    Access note: Create a username and password to borrow up to five books at a time.
  • Videos include documentaries, historical events, educational and ephermeral topics, and lectures.
  • An open access discovery tool searching over 240 million works, similar in scope to Google Scholar.
  • Find research results from the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI).
  • North Carolina’s premier travel, food, and culture publication, available in full text online.
  • Develops, collects, catalogues, and preserves electronic literary and linguistic resources for use in higher education, in research, teaching, and learning.
  • Citations and abstracts in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care systems, and preclinical sciences.
    Access note: This resource is freely available from the Internet. The Linkout feature, which is marked with an icon, provides access to the full-text of journals subscribed to by Appalachian State University Libraries.
  • Provides bibliographic citations to working papers, journal articles, books, and book chapters, many in full text, covering all aspects of economics.
  • A world wide collaborative of over 185,000 authors and more than 1.3 million users that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science research.
  • Includes North Carolina population, economic, and income data as well as county profiles and rankings.
  • Access data through products and tools including data visualizations, mobile apps, interactive web apps, and other software.
  • Compiled from officially-recognized international sources providing 331 indicators, from agriculute to urban development, covering 209 countries.
  • Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.