Frequently Asked Questions

Can the Library record broadcasts for me?

If you are an teaching staff member and you need a programme recorded for teaching purposes, the Library can record it for you.

We can record television or sky programmes from these channels:

Free-to-air and Freeview:

• TV One
• TV 2
• TV 3
• C4
• U TV (previously TVNZ 6)
• TVNZ 7
• Parliament TV
• Prime Television
• Maori Television
  
• Prime Television
• Māori Television

Sky Television:

• Arts Channel
• BBC World
• CNN
• BBC Knowledge
• History Channel

All recordings are made to DVD.

If you would like to request a recording, please fill out the recording request form.

How do I contact the Library?

For general questions, please use our Ask a Librarian service—you can send us an email, call us on the phone, or send an instant message. Look for the “Ask a Librarian” button.

Ask a Librarian

If you need to contact a specific library or the staff of a special collection, their contact details will be on their Collections page; and contact details for borrower services are available from the Borrowing page. If you are trying to locate a specific staff member, please consult the Victoria University staff directory.

The Library's postal address is:

The Library
Victoria University of Wellington
P O Box 3438
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

The Library's fax number is +64 4 471 2070.

Phone numbers and email contacts for the campus libraries are:

Kelburn: 463 6186 library-lending@vuw.ac.nz

Architecture and Design: 463 6241 library-architecture@vuw.ac.nz

Commerce: 463 7495 library-commerce@vuw.ac.nz

Education: 463 9508 library-wjscott@vuw.ac.nz

Law: 463 6372 library-law@vuw.ac.nz

How do I recommend an item for the Library to purchase?

If you think the Library should purchase an item, you can send a recommendation to the Collection Management team, who will evaluate it and decide whether it can be purchased. The Library's Collection Development and Management Policy guides all purchase decisions.

Make a purchase recommendation

You can also contact your subject librarian directly to recommend an item for purchase.

Purchase recommendations are welcome from all members of the University community.

I am a teaching staff member at another campus. How do I access Audiovisual Collection material?

Please fill out the online booking form, then submit an intersite request for the material you require. It will be sent to you through the intersite system.

I am a teaching staff member. How do I arrange for books to be placed on reserve for my courses?

Please contact the staff at the library where you wish to have the item placed on reserve. Please try to submit your reserve requests at least one month before the start of teaching to allow sufficient time for processing.

Material available through the Library's online resources can be placed on e-reserve. Additionally, book chapters and articles can usually be scanned and made available through the E-reserve system as well. Where it is possible to place material on e-reserve this will be preferred.

E-reserve items will appear in the list of reserve material for your course on the Library Catalogue and feature a link through which your students can access the item. 

For print items, please include:

• Which item(s) you wish to place on reserve and where they are currently located.
• Whether the items should be placed on closed or open reserve.
• How long the items should be issued for. Closed reserve material can be issued for two, three, or six hours; open reserve material can be issued for three or seven days.

For e-reserve items, please include:

• A link to the item if you have it, or a citation.

For all items, please include:

• The course code and title.
• The approximate number of students taking the course.
• The lecturer's name and contact details, and your own name and contact details if you are not the lecturer.

I need this item for longer than the normal loan period. Is this possible?

For academic staff, Ph.D. students, and other advanced researchers, we can arrange an Extended Loan period of six months, which may be renewed once for a further six months.

• The item should be one which is integral to your research.
• Items on restricted issue are not eligible for extended loan.
• Extended loan items are still subject to recall.

To inquire about setting up an extended loan, please approach the Issue Desk staff at the library where the item is kept.

What can I do if the Library does not hold an item I want to place on reserve?

The Library will attempt to obtain copies of any book required for teaching. Please give us as much warning as you can if you know the Library does not hold an item.

If an item is impossible to obtain, or while we are waiting for it to arrive, the Library can make a lecturer's personal copy of a book available through closed reserve. The Library cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage of a personal copy.

If an unavailable item is an article or chapter, it can, subject to the University's Copyright License and the restrictions of the Copyright Act 1994, be scanned and made available through the e-reserve system. Please contact the appropriate library for more information on this.

It is sometimes possible to use the interloan service to obtain material for reserve; however, requests for these items must be made by Library staff. The Library cannot legally place a personal copy of an interloaned item on reserve. Please contact Library staff for more information.