Use LibrarySearch to look for a specific title.

• Type the whole title as a phrase (inside double quotation marks) into the search box. Select "Books and multimedia" from the drop down box and press enter. E.g.: “Style manual”
• If not found it can be worth trying again by removing the quotation marks, using just a few keywords from the title and adding the author’s name.
• Once you have found the correct item, if it is available as an ebook, use the ‘Online access’ link to view.
• For physical books, check the availability, and note the call number. Use the map link to show where to find it on the shelf. 
• If the item is on loan or at another campus, place a hold via the link under the locations heading. You need to be logged into LibrarySearch to place a hold and access online resources.

For additional information, go to LibrarySearch videos or Help with LibrarySearch or Help with ebooks, or our self paced guide, How to find books

If you have the citation details of the article, a quick way to see if the Library has it is by doing a phrase search. This type of search uses the exact wording of the title, and has double quotation marks immediately before and after it.

• Go to LibrarySearch and log in.
• In the search box, enter the exact title of the article, enclosing it with double quotation marks. E.g. "Consumer rights awareness of young Australians".
• If this search doesn't find the article, check that:
  • you have entered the title without leaving out any words, and
  • there are no spelling errors.
• If this search doesn’t find the article, search for it in Google Scholar (found under the heading “Launch” on the Library’s home page). Enter the same search that you used in LibrarySearch.

For additional information, go to our self paced guide, How to find journal articles.

The Library has a limited collection of exam papers. They are available online and in print. To find them follow these steps :

• Go to the Library’s home page.
• In the search box, enter the word ‘exam’ and the course code, e.g. exam MIET2116.
• If the exam you want is online, click on the “online access” link.
• You may have to log in to the Learning Repository (Equella) to see the link to download the PDF .
• If it is in print, click on the “Available at..." link to see the Library location. It will be in the Reserve Collection.
• Sometimes, a course may have had a change to the course code used in previous years. So, you can also try searching by course name, e.g. exam "Mechanical Design 1".

For additional information, go to Past examination papers.

For best results, go to LibrarySearch (log in) and start searching for e-books using keywords for your topic.
Once you have a list of search results, you will need to refine it to display e-books only:

• Look for Resource Type under the Refine My Results heading (in the menu on the left) and select Show more. 
• Select e-Books .
• View e-books by selecting the Online access link.
• If there is more than one version, “see all versions” and then the “Online access” link.
• Alternatively, start browsing the Library's main e-Book collections from our Databases A-Z page.

For additional information, go to our e-books guide. 

There are 3 options to track down a title we don't have.

• Use Document Delivery Services
  You can request a copy through our Document Delivery service. You will need to Log in to Document Delivery and create a request. Watch how to submit a Document Delivery Request (video)
• Borrow it yourself
  You may find the item is at another organisation's library service and you can then borrow it yourself. Access our page on other library catalogues  to research which other library has the book. If it is held at another academic library, you may be able to borrow from them using a CAVAL card.
• Request online
  Another option is to request the book using a service called CAVALborrow. Log into LibrarySearch and search for the book you want. If we don't hold it, select the CAVAL borrow button and choose the RMIT Library site you wish to collect the book from.

For additional information, go to borrowing from other libraries or try our self paced guide, How to obtain items from other libraries.

• at another Library site?

• already on loan?

• in “off-site storage”

You can place a hold on a physical item at another site or an item already on loan.

(Items with the location of “Off-site storage” can only be borrowed by placing a hold)

• Search LibrarySearch and select the title of the item you wish to borrow.
• Under the ‘Locations’ heading, select  ‘Please log in to place a hold’ and follow the prompts to log in. Once logged in, you will be taken back to the same item record.
• Under the ‘Locations’ heading, select ‘Place a Hold’. (If you have already logged into LibrarySearch, this option should immediately be visible). Select the location you wish to pick up the item from and press ‘Submit’.
• You will receive an e-mail when the hold is ready for you to pick up. Items are kept on the ‘hold’ shelf, alphabetically under your family name. You’ll have 5 business days to collect and borrow the item.
• More information on borrowing can be found on the borrowing conditions page or via the Borrowing brochure

Note: Items from Temporary Off-site storage generally arrive within one business day. Available items arriving from one site to another generally arrive within two days.

Yes, we have a system of automatic renewals. We will automatically renew your items 3 days before the due date, provided:

• There are no holds placed on these items.
• You have not reached your maximum borrowing time.
  RMIT students and staff - 12 months
  CAVAL and Special Borrowers - 3 months
• Your accrued fine is less that $25 for students, or $50 for staff

If there are holds placed on any of the items, or if you’ve reached your maximum borrowing time, you will receive a library notice. Please return these items by the due date in the notice.
All other items will be automatically renewed unless your account is blocked due to overdues or fines. You can also manually renew items via your My Library Account after logging into LibrarySearch.

For additional information, go to More information on renewals or take a look at our  Borrowing brochure

Log in to LibrarySearch.  Select the item to view the details. Under the  ‘Locations’ heading, click ‘Place a Hold’.  Select the Library location you wish to pick up the item from and press ‘Submit’.

You will receive an e-mail when the hold is ready for you to pick up.  Items are stored on the ‘hold’ shelf, alphabetically under you family name. You have 5 business days to collect and borrow the item.

To change a pickup location, contact us via Ask a Librarian. To cancel a hold request, login to LibrarySearch and hover over your name in the top right hand corner, to see My Library Account.

Note: Sessional staff who have not yet registered as a borrower with the Library will not be able to place a hold as no borrowing record will exist.  Please come in to the Library to register.

For additional information, go to the Holds page.

Please check the Library website for the current opening hours and locations. There is a calendar available for each site.
Brunswick
Bundoora
Bundoora East
Carlton
Swanston

Yes, there is lots of help available. The Easy Cite Referencing tool provides guidance and examples for the Harvard, APA, AGLC and Vancouver styles. We also have referencing guides available via the Library website. If you need specific help with referencing in your assignments or essays, you may find the online referencing tutorials in the Learning Lab, or iSearch helpful. You can also contact your teaching staff for help. Library staff can provide basic referencing advice. For more information, please check the Library's referencing guides and referencing tutorials. 

For additional information, go to our self paced guide, Find out about referencing

Scholarly articles are in-depth, accurate, well researched, written by academics, and published in academic journals. They are good and credible sources of information because the articles have been through a peer-review process. This process involves formal evaluation by equally qualified academics and experts.

Some databases will give you the option to only see results in your search from 'peer reviewed' or 'scholarly' journals.

If you want to know if the article you have found is in a scholarly and/or peer reviewed journal, use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory. The video and handout will show you how:

How to tell if a journal is scholarly (video)
How to use Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory (PDF)

For advice about common solutions to issues accessing our online resources, go to Troubleshooting access to online collections
Still having problems? Tell us about it using the database access problems form or contact us for further assistance.