Borrow from the Library
The Library provides access to an extensive range of resources, both from our own collections as well as some other libraries' collections.
To borrow from the La Trobe University (LTU) Library, you must have a valid LTU Library membership. Current LTU students/staff are automatically Library members, as are La Trobe College Australia students and academic staff. Others (including alumni and even the general public) can also request to join.
What you can borrow
We provide access to a diverse and comprehensive collection of resources to support excellence in learning, teaching and research. We purchase electronic versions of resources where available to enable access from any location, however, physical items can be viewed or borrowed from one of our seven campus libraries.
If you can't find what you need in our collections, you may be able to request an item from an external (non-LTU) library thanks to our Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Service (ILDDS).
Refer to our Library loan policies to see the limits on what you can borrow and for how long.
Know of a good resource that isn't available through the Library?
Provide its details to suggest that we purchase it (current LTU students/staff only).
How to borrow
To borrow physical items, you can either take them to the Library service desk or use one of the self-checkout machines, which are available at our Melbourne (Bundoora), Bendigo, Albury-Wodonga, Mildura and Shepparton campus libraries.
You will need your LTU student/staff card or a valid CAVAL, La Trobe College or Library card when borrowing.
Note: Some items in the Library collection are not able to be borrowed (e.g. Special collections). These can only be viewed within the Library.
Melbourne (City) campus
There is no designated library building at the Melbourne (City) campus. Instead, there is a small collection of 7-day items at reception on Level 2. You can only borrow up to four of these 7-day items at any given time.
Items that have been requested from other libraries can be collected at the reception desk during opening hours.
Sydney campus
The library at our Sydney campus is located on Level 8 and has course books and reading material for all courses taught at this campus.
If you need physical items delivered from other libraries, you may be eligible for our Remote delivery service, where the items will be posted directly to you.
Bouverie Centre
There's a library at the Bouverie Centre with a small reserve collection. Items can only be borrowed by Bouverie students/staff and you cannot reserve an item already on loan via 'Request a hold' in the Library Collections Search – you'll need to contact the reception desk of the centre directly to request an item be held for you.
If you need physical items delivered from other libraries, you may be eligible for our Remote delivery service, where the items will be posted directly to you.
Clinical schools
We hold material for clinical schools at the Alfred, Austin, Northern and Royal Melbourne Hospital libraries and the Bendigo Clinical Health School. To access materials, you must be a staff member or a student on clinical placement at the respective hospital.
If you need physical items delivered from other libraries, you may be eligible for our Remote delivery service, where the items will be posted directly to you.
Online resources can be viewed without having to be borrowed.
Most of our collection is in digital format and can be accessed via the Library Collections Search. This includes journal articles, eBooks, legal cases and videos, as well as many other types of information relevant to research and teaching.
If you are not a current LTU student or staff member, you can access these online resources from one of the guest computers in our Albury-Wodonga, Melbourne (Bundoora) and Bendigo campus libraries.
Note: Some resources are restricted to current LTU students/staff only.
For information on freely available academic resources, refer to our Open Access sources guide.
La Trobe College students/staff
You can access online resources on a Library computer using your La Trobe College student/staff Library username and password. You can also connect your laptop/device to the eduroam wireless network.
A selection of databases can be viewed from anywhere, but require signing in with your Library credentials.
LTU alumni
A selection of databases can be viewed from anywhere, but require signing in with your LTU alumni Library username and password.
Wodonga TAFE students/staff
You can access the TAFE subscribed eResources (including articles, eBooks, standards and streaming video) from the Wodonga TAFE Library website.
If you want to borrow an item that is currently on loan, in storage or at another campus library, you can place a request to have it put on hold for you.
Refer to our Library loan policies to see the maximum number of hold requests you can make.
The process of placing a hold request is described below.
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Sign in to Library Collections Search and then search for the item you want to borrow.
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After selecting the item from the search results and viewing its details, check the section titled 'Get it'.
Note: If the item is not listed in the search results, we may not have it in our collections. However, you may be able to request it from an external (non-LTU) library.You should be able to select either a Request link (if it is on loan or at another LTU location) or a Document delivery link (if it is available from an external collection).
Note: If you do not see either of those links, the item may not be able to be requested (e.g. only viewable at the library where it is located). You can contact the Library to confirm if that's the case. -
Choose the location where you will collect the item and select Request.
Note: If your request is successful, you'll see a highlighted 'Request Placed' message. If more than one person has requested a hold on the item, you'll be placed in a hold queue and the borrow time will reduce to one week. -
You'll receive an email when the item is ready to be collected.
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Pick up the item from the Request shelf (also known as the Hold shelf) at the location you specified in your initial request, and then borrow it at the service desk or a self-checkout machine.
Note: If you are unsure of the location of the Request shelf, please contact the Library or ask a staff member.General items must be collected within seven days from when you were notified, whereas high-demand items must be collected within two days. Please notify Library staff if you're unable to collect the item by the allocated pick-up date.
Note: The email that you receive will inform you how long the item will be held for you.
You can view or cancel any hold requests you have made in the 'Requests' section of My Account.
Journal articles or bound journals (LTU students/staff only)
If you have found a journal article and it is located at another LTU campus library or in storage, you can request it via Document delivery on Library Collections Search. Once processed, you will receive an email with the scanned article attached as a PDF file.
If you have found a bound journal that is located at another LTU campus library or in storage, contact the Library to place a hold request. Unbound journals are generally only viewable at the library where they are located and cannot be borrowed.
If an item is not within our collections, you may be able to request it from another (external) library thanks to our Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Service.
Refer to our Library loan policies to see the maximum number of requests you can make.
See how to request items from another library
If you need a resource in an accessible format (e.g. text-only, large-print, audio or Braille), you can make a request through the Library's accessibility services.
Note: Some alternative formats are only available if you are registered with AccessAbility and Inclusion.
If you're studying off-campus and need physical items delivered to you, you may be eligible for our remote delivery service. This service is also available for students at our Sydney campus.
You must register before you can request items via the remote delivery service.
Check eligibility and register for remote delivery
Renewing items
All items can be renewed, except for the following:
- items requested by another borrower
- short-term loan items (e.g. marked as 24 hour or seven-day loans)
- items from the Serials Collection (i.e. journals, newspapers and government publications).
Refer to our Library loan policies to see the maximum number of renewals you can make for different types of loans.
Our system will automatically renew eligible items a few days before they're due, but you can also renew items yourself if you need them longer.
To renew items, follow the process below.
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View your current loans in the 'Loans' section of My Account.
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Select Renew for each item you would like renewed, or select Renew all to renew all your current loans.
If the items have successfully been renewed, their updated due date will be shown.
Note: If an item cannot be renewed, you must return it to the Library by its due date.
You can also contact the Library to ask for your loan to be renewed.
How to return items
You can return borrowed Library items to any LTU campus library by dropping the items in the returns chute.
If you're at our Melbourne (City) campus, please use the returns box at the reception desk on Level 2.
Note: Items returned outside of Library service (face-to-face) hours will only be recorded as returned on your Library record when services resume.
Hospital and clinical school libraries
If you borrowed items from a hospital's or clinical school's library, please return the item to that library.
You can post items back to the Library, but please allow time for them to arrive by their due date.
Address the parcel 'Attention: LOANS' and post it to either your local campus library or the Melbourne (Bundoora) campus library using the following address:
Borchardt Library
La Trobe University
Melbourne,
Victoria 3086
Note: You will still be responsible for the item until it is received by the Library and removed from your Library record. If the item is lost or damaged during postage, there may be a replacement cost that you will be responsible for.
Overdue, damaged and lost items
If an item is not returned by its due date, it is considered overdue.
When you have an item that is overdue, you will not be able to borrow additional items from the Library.
If an item is not returned within a certain amount of time after its due date (see our Library loan policies), it is considered lost.
If an item you return has been damaged, you may be liable to pay a fee for it to be replaced.
Likewise, if an item you borrowed has been lost, you will need to pay a replacement fee.
Refer to our Library loan policies to see the penalties and restrictions that accompany fees (i.e. fines) from the Library.
You can view any outstanding Library fines in the 'Fines' section of My Account.