The Victorian State Government’s courier service contract, which is used by more than 500 other organisations including the Libraries Victoria network, has ended and is currently under a tender process that is expected to take place over the next few months.

Unfortunately, this means there is a state-wide service interruption to the Libraries Victoria network that will temporarily limit borrowing access from other library service providers.

As a library member of Yarra Libraries, you will still have full access to library services across the City of Yarra. However, your ability to place holds on items from other library services provided through the Libraries Victoria network will be temporarily limited until the tender process for a new state-wide courier service is completed by the Victorian Government.

Update to the Libraries Victoria service from Monday 17 October:

• The Libraries Victoria Support Team will update the settings to disable system holds for the Libraries Victoria network
• All existing holds in the system will be fulfilled
• Library users can still visit any library in Victoria that is part of the Libraries Victoria network in person and borrow resources directly from those libraries. To find other Libraries Victoria Libraries, please visit: https://bit.ly/FindLVLibrary.
• Limited courier services will be in operation while items are being returned to their original library service. 
  
  

Public Libraries Victoria understands that this is a valued service for all library members across the state and are advocating to get the new state-wide courier service up and running as soon as possible.

We will provide regular updates and further information as it becomes available to us.

Further Questions 

Can I still place a hold on items from another library service from Monday 17 October?

No, holds from Libraries Victoria network have been temporarily suspended. You can still place holds on items from Yarra Libraries. 

Will holds placed prior Monday 17 October still be in circulation?

Yes, existing holds will remain and be delivered, however, they may take longer to arrive. 

Can I still borrow from another library service if I find an item from the catalogue? 

Yes, Library users can still visit other libraries in person and borrow resources directly from those libraries. To find other Libraries Victoria libraries, please visit: https://bit.ly/FindLVLibrary

Can I renew the item on loan from another library service?

Yes, providing there are no holds placed by customers from that library service.

How do I return a loan from another library service? 

We will still accept returns from the Libraries Victoria network.

When will the service resume?

Public Libraries Victoria is advocating to get the new state-wide courier service up and running as soon as possible.

How will I know when the service has resumed?

You will receive an update from us via your preferred notification contact method (email/sms) when the service has resumed.

Why aren’t you using a temporary courier?

Unfortunately, temporary courier charges have increased and it is too high for Libraries Victoria to continue running the service as normal.

Are Inter-Library Loans still available from non-sharing and academic libraries?

No, unfortunately we are also temporarily suspending the ordering of ILLs, however if you need further information regarding your outstanding requests, please contact [email protected]