Finding, requesting & deliveries

The catalogue shows locations for every item and tells you how to request them for use at the Library.

A few common location information statements in the Library’s catalogue:

Request from onsite/offsite storage

Use your Library member details to sign in and ‘request' the item.

Click on the title or on the ‘Available’ statement (highlighted above) to go to the full record view.
Sign in, and open each ‘Available’ statement listed in the full record to see what is held at each location.
‘Request’ your selected item
You can request up to ten items at a time.
Requests will be delivered to the Redmond Barry Reading Room Collection Point, according to the collection retrieval times. Material requested from offsite storage will be available in two business days.
Items will be held under your family name for seven days.
Check My account to see your active requests and the availability of item(s) in use, or visit the Membership webpage to update your contact details.

Request to access in Heritage Collections Reading Room

The Library's heritage or special collections, as well as other material that may need handling assistance or special equipment, are delivered to the Heritage Collections Reading Room. This reading room is a quiet supervised space and requires a booking to view collection material.

If the Location in the catalogue record says “Request to access in Heritage Collections Reading Room” – you can order it yourself. Use your Library member details to sign in and ‘request' the item.

Click on the title or on the ‘Available’ statement (highlighted above) to go to the full record view.
Sign in, and open each ‘Available’ statement listed in the full record to see what is held at each location.
‘Request’ your selected item
You can request up to ten items at a time.
Make sure you check your email after requesting an item, so you don't miss any important updates.
You will receive a confirmation email once your items have been retrieved asking you to book into the Heritage Collections Reading Room. If you need assistance to make a booking contact Ask a Librarian.
If an item cannot be delivered, for example due to access conditions, you will receive an email notification.
See collection retrieval times for delivery times.
Items will be held for seven days.
Check My account to see your active requests and the availability of item(s) in use, or visit the Membership webpage to update your contact details.

Phone 03 8664 7002 to arrange access/delivery

Only some items delivered to the Heritage Collections Reading Room are self-requestable. If the Location in the catalogue record says “Phone 03 8664 7002 to arrange delivery” please contact us and we will order the item on your behalf.

Call the number listed – have your Library member details ready, or if you're at the Library, speak to staff at the Ask a Librarian desk. This service is available from 10am to 5.45pm daily.
See collection retrieval times for delivery times.
Librarians will make an appointment for the Heritage Collections Reading Room for you when ordering your material.

Deliveries:

Redmond Barry Reading Room – most offsite books and journals
Heritage Collections Reading Room – special collections, offsite newspapers
Librarians will make an appointment for the Heritage Collections Reading Room for you when ordering your material.

Available online

Click the link to access the item. These items are either:

Freely available in the Library and from home.
Available only inside the Library.
Available from home using your library membership.

Find on shelf

Available from an open access shelf in one of the Reading Rooms. To find the item yourself, note the name of the room and the call number.

Click on the blue 'Map it' button for a map to the item location.

Legal Deposit copies

Legal Deposit copies are donated to the Library to preserve a lasting record of Victoria’s publishing history. These copies should only be used when there is no other copy available. If you see a Legal Deposit message on an item, check locations under 'Availability' for alternate copies you can request.

If there are no other copies you can still request the Legal Deposit copy once you’ve signed in.

Check other locations

We have multiple copies of some items, and different date ranges of journals and newspapers may be stored in separate places. For more information, choose the Available link.

For journals and newspapers, click each location in turn to find out more about our holdings – we don't always have every issue of a title.

This item cannot be requested at present

We may have to temporarily restrict access to some collection items. We will keep you updated on when we can make these items available.

Ask at desk

If you see this message, Ask a librarian and we'll help you work out what to do next. This service is available from 10am to 5.45pm daily.

Collection retrieval times

These can vary - please refer to current collection retrieval times for full details.