In 2026 the Special Collections will be relocated to a fit-for-purpose storage environment on the refurbished lower ground floor of the Baillieu Library. Access to Special Collections will be restricted from the 15th of June, gradually re-opening throughout Semester 1, 2027. The Reading Room will remain open, and access to University of Melbourne Archives collections will not be impacted.
Please see here for more information about the Baillieu refurbishment and how to make alternative arrangements to use the collections.
Archives and Special Collections are open to all and can be accessed through the Reading Room at the Baillieu Library. Each collection has an online catalogue that can be used to locate materials, which can then be requested for viewing via the Aeon request management system. An increasing amount of material is available online as digital collections, which are regularly updated.
Online collection catalogues
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Search for East Asian collections in the University Library Catalogue. For Rare East Asian materials search under Baillieu Special Collections in the catalogue.
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Search for Maps in the University Library Catalogue. Search under Baillieu Special Collections for Rare Map collections.
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Search for Prints & Drawings in the catalogue.
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Most Rare Books can be searched for in the University Library Catalogue. Some collections are only accessible via card catalogues or lists. Please see Rare Books page for more information.
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Search for Rare Music collections in the University Library Catalogue. Business and personal papers of the Editions de l'Oiseau-Lyre Archive can be found in the University of Melbourne Archives catalogue.
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Search for the University of Melbourne Archives in the catalogue.
Some material may be restricted and require additional permissions to be sought prior to it being available. This includes collections containing material relating to Indigenous Communities, Child Welfare Records and Records about Students.
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The University of Melbourne Thesis Collection consists of archival copies of all Masters by Research and PhD theses completed to 2017. Digital copies can be requested via the University Digitisation Centre. Theses after 2017 exist as digital copies only and can be accessed via the Institutional Repository.
To locate Honours theses search the Library catalogue in the Rare Books holdings. Honours theses are often held in departmental offices or libraries and may be available for reference there.