Purpose: The study investigated perceptions and experiences of students at Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek, Croatia with academic databases. Methodology: The mixed-method study (self- administered print survey and semi- structured interviews) was conducted from October 2016 through February 2017. Quantitative analysis was conducted on 381 correctly completed questionnaires using the SPSS statistical package. Besides descriptive statistics, Chi- Square tests, T-tests, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to test possible differences between the groups in the sample. Statistical difference was tested at the level of 95%. Results: Although 82.2% of respondents think that information literacy (IL) skills are important for their academic success, only 63% reported that they received some formal IL training. The respondents self-assessed their Google searching skills with higher grades (Mean 4.31) than their academic database searching skills (Mean 3.69), and they reported a more frequent use of Google (53.8%) than databases (25.1%) for academic purposes. When asked about problems related to database searching, students reported several challenges: their systematic habit of using Google (48%), limited access to databases from home (42.3%), the (foreign) language of articles (35.2%) and their lack of searching skills (35.2%). In general, the findings suggest that humanities students receive less IL formal training at university level, they are to a lesser degree motivated (both externally and internally) to use online databases and are more often inclined to use Google for academic purposes. Also, findings suggest that there is a disciplinary difference regarding the perception of database. Research limitation: Geographical limitations and small sample size. Originality/Practical implication: The results can influence the design of information literacy programs and library reference services.