A POWERFUL FREE RESEARCH TOOL FOR ANYONE WHO HAS AN AUSTIN (TX) PUBLIC LIBRARY BORROWING CARD:

I was informed several days ago by a very helpful staff member at an Austin Public Library branch library in northwest Austin that anyone with a regular Austin Public Library ID card can pursue free online research about a wide array of topics, including very recent medical research findings, by visiting the following webpage:

https://library.austintexas.gov/virtual

Those for whom Spanish is their primary language may visit the alternative webpage of:

https://library.austintexas.gov/es-virtual

A staff member for the Austin Public Library informed me on the telephone on Monday, April 8, that persons  who reside outside of Austin or in another U.S. state can pay a fee to obtain an Austin Public Library ID card. That ID card will then enable them to visit the above-cited website and make full use of the Austin Public Library's "virtual library" online data-base services and other online services.

More information about how those out-of-town residents or out-of-state residents can obtain year-round access to the Austin Public Library's "virtual library" online data-base services is provided at the following website: 

http://www.library.austintexas.gov/mylibrarycard