Giving to the Library

Donate

The University of Melbourne Library adds value to the University's research, education and community program by providing resources that reflect the aims of the University. The Library welcomes gifts that will enrich University teaching or research or enhance the University’s collections.

Financial donations

We appreciate your help to digitise and conserve our unique collections, construct state of the art facilities and meet the information needs of our students and researchers.  Your support for the Library will enrich the whole University community and leave a lasting legacy for the scholars of tomorrow.

Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible for Australian tax payers and may be made online.

Gifts of published material

The University of Melbourne Library (Scholarly Services) acknowledges the generosity of alumni and members of the community who wish to donate books, journals and other material. At present we are not accepting donations due to a backlog of materials in our storage and cataloguing channels. When this situation is remediated we will revisit this position.

Please note that gifted material becomes the property of the University of Melbourne. Such gifts will be integrated into the existing collections, and cannot be claimed back at a later date. They are subject to the same conditions as existing collections, including processing, retention, location, use and disposal.

Cultural Gifts Program and Cultural Bequests Program

The Commonwealth Government’s Cultural Gifts Program enables eligible institutions, such as Melbourne University Library, to accept valuable donations of rare books and other collectibles while offering  the donor a tax deduction for the market value of the donated item(s).

The Cultural Bequests Program is for private collectors who wish to bequeath nationally significant cultural items or collections to the University.  Such bequests can offer tax benefits and also allow donors to retain custody of the item(s) during their lifetime.  For more information, please contact the Cultural Collections Coordinator.

Friends of the Baillieu

The Friends of the Baillieu Library help us to buy items of special importance, including rare books, prints and manuscripts.  The Friends also support digitisation projects that provide online access to the Library’s special and unique collection items.  For more information see the Friends of the Baillieu Library webpage.