Spatial databases learning resources for newbies?

take a look at http://www.bostongis.org they have great "An almost idiot guide ..." for
PostGIS,
Microsoft SQL Server spatial and
SpatiaLite.

that is really a great start.

I strongly recommend the book "PostGIS in Action" by Regina Obe and Leo Hsu.

They are the same people who run the Boston GIS site mentioned above.

The book goes into a lot of detail about PostGIS but the concepts transfer well to other platforms.

• Spatial Databases course from School of Computing, Dublin Institute of Technology.
• Introduction to PostGIS & Spatial Database Tips and Tricks Workshop from OpenGeo
• Introduction to Spatial Databases slides from Toni Hernández