Membership & borrowing

All Victoria University (VU) students and staff are automatically members of the VU library. In certain cases, other groups such as reciprocal and external borrowers can also access library resources.

We offer a wide range of facilities and services, including print and online materials printing, and copying.

Eligible members can contact the service desk at a campus library to book equipment items.

VU students & staff

All VU staff and students are automatically members of the VU library. Onshore members in Australia can borrow print books and other physical materials, as well as access a wide range on online resources.

Your student or staff card is your library card and can also be used for printing, and copying.

Offshore students & staff

If you study overseas you have access to a range of online resources, including e-books, eJournals, videos, newspapers and theses. Print books cannot be sent overseas (limit your search to "Items with full text online").

If you cannot find the item you are looking for, it may be acquired through our document request service (conditions apply).

Staff who teach students at a VU partner institution can access VU Library eResources. There may be some delay due to administrative processing of employment data. For further enquiries contact [email protected] at the Library.

: If you come to Australia and wish to borrow books from the library you need to:
contact your onshore program coordinator and get the Short-Term Membership Indemnity form
provide your contact details, including your onshore address, and an end date
get your program coordinator to sign the application form
submit the completed form to any campus library Service Desk to be enrolled on the library management system.

Reciprocal borrowers

Reciprocal borrowers are members of the CAVAL or CAUL (ULANZ) borrowing programs. Your My Library username is the barcode on the CAVAL or CAUL (ULANZ) card.

Borrowers can access online resources that are available via the public access catalogues and can search the Library for books, journals, DVDs and multimedia collections.

Some restrictions apply to materials from the Library collection, including journals, IELTS (International English Language Testing System) materials, off-air recordings and reference and audio-visual material.

Reciprocal borrowers are unable to access the VU wireless network, book library PCs or book student study or discussion rooms.

: CAVAL

CAVAL is a borrowing program that allows staff and students of participating university libraries to borrow material from other participating libraries. To register you will need to provide proof (i.e. a current staff or student ID card from your home institution).

Check the CAVAL website for details.

University Libraries of Australia & New Zealand (ULANZ)

ULANZ is a borrowing scheme that allows students and staff of Australian and New Zealand universities to borrow in person from any other participating university library. See using other libraries for further details.

External borrowers

External membership of the Library is available to:

VU alumni
VCE/VET students
other individuals living in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Your My Library username is the barcode on the External Borrower Card.

Apply for external membership

You can apply for external membership at any VU Library service desk.

Please bring your photo ID and proof of residence to support your application.

Loans & returns

While an increasingly digital library, VU Library continues to provide hardcopy books to support teaching, learning and research, and it aims to ensure fair and equitable access to these books.

Standard loans

All VU students (TAFE, undergraduate and postgraduate) and all VU staff, have an unlimited number of loans. External and reciprocal borrowers (including ULANZ and CAVAL) can have a maximum of 10 loan items at any one time.

The standard loan periods are:

VU TAFE and undergraduate students – 28 days
VU staff, VU postgraduate students (PhD, Masters and Honours) – 84 days (12 weeks) or equivalent to a semester.
Non-VU (external) members – 28 days, with a maximum of 10 loan items.

Restricted loans

Some items held by VU Library will be limited to shorter loan periods:

Books in high demand, this includes an item that has a hold place on it – 14 days
Reserve collection – two hours (within the Library only).

Returns

Items can be returned to any campus library during opening hours. Self-service machines for borrowing or returning your items are located within most campus libraries.

Outside of opening hours, items may also be returned to libraries which have external return chutes (St Albans and Werribee campus libraries).

You can also post items (all return postage costs are your responsibility) to the Library postal address.

Library items – including books – not returned by the due date may incur a replacement fee.

In some cases, you may be able to purchase a replacement copy of the item instead of paying the replacement fee which could be a cheaper option. Please contact Library staff to see if this option is available to you.

If a non-returned item is not replaced nor the replacement fee paid, further penalties may be applied.

Holds

Standard loan books can be place on hold by a VU Library member, so that you get to borrow it next. Holds can be placed on books that are:

at another VU campus library
currently out on loan.

Hold requests are self-service and cannot be placed over the telephone. To place a hold, log into My Library and place the hold through Library Search.

Items that can't be placed on hold

You cannot place a hold on any items that have a restricted loan period. This includes:

reserve items
special collection items
equipment
VU Sydney items.

Conditions

Some conditions apply to hold requests:

VU staff and students can have 10 hold requests at any one time.
Non-Victoria University members can have three hold requests at any one time.
Items requested via the hold system will be reserved for five working days, after which they will be returned to the collection or go to the next person who has placed a hold on the item.
If an item has other holds on it, the loan period will be reduced to two weeks and cannot be renewed. Check your date-due receipt.

Renewals

Standard loans will be automatically renewed two days before the due date unless:

the item has been requested by someone else
you have an overdue item which will interfere with automatic renewals
your library privileges have been suspended for any other reason.

External and reciprocal borrowers (including ULANZ and CAVAL) can have up to three renewals.

VU Library will send you a courtesy email to let you know when an item has been automatically renewed, or if you've reached your maximum borrowing time. Please ensure that you return these items by the due date in the email.

Inter-library loan, Reserve, VU Sydney or equipment items will not be automatically renewed.

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