RMIT University Library

The antecedent to RMIT's University Library network was established as the library of the Working Men's College of Melbourne (antecedent to present-day RMIT) in 1890.[3] The tiny library was initially housed in a 6 x 9 m room in Building 1 and contained only 152 m of shelf space. It was managed by the college's mathematics instructor Alfred Hart between 1902-1930, a leading Shakespearian of his day.[4]

From the 1930s, the library was expanded and relocated to the space beneath the public lecture theatre of Building 1 (what is today the Pearson and Murphy's café).[3] During this time, it was primarily staffed by repatriated World War I soldiers as part of a federal government re-skilling program.[5] By 1945, the library had outgrown its space and the decision was made to split it into specific field collections. From then the various collections were housed in the schools relevant to each field.[3]

In 1955, a central library was re-established in Building 6 - following ongoing requests from the student union.[6][3] And, in 1956, John Livingstone Ward was appointed as RMIT's first chief librarian.[3] Some schools continued to maintain research collections, in addition to the central library. Examples of school collections that still exist are the AFI Research Collection,[7] RMIT Design Archives and National Aerospace Resource.[8][9]

As the campus expanded northward during the 1970s, a second library site was opened. In 1993, the main library was relocated to Building 8 and was further expanded - after which it was known as the Swanston Library. The second library became known as the Carlton Library.

Two more libraries were added to the network when the Bundoora campus opened in 1995 - Bundoora East Library and Bundoora West Library. When the Brunswick campus was annexed by RMIT in 1999, the Brunswick Library also became part of the network.

During the 1990s and 2000s, a Business Library was located in Building 108 on Bourke Street. The collection was merged with the Swanston Library when RMIT closed the building in 2012.[10]

The branches at the Ho Chi Minh City, known as Beanland Library, and Hanoi campuses opened in 2001 and 2004 respectively.

In November 2018, the Bundoora East Campus Library closed and merged with Bundoora West Library.[11]

For users with disabilities, services are available to assist with using the collections. At Brunswick, Bundoora, Carlton, and Swanston libraries, contact library staff. For all other matters, contact the Library Disability Services Co-ordinator.[18]

• RMIT
• Working Men's College of Melbourne

• Murray-Smith, Stephen; Dare, Anthony J. (1987), The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (1st ed.), South Yarra (Melbourne): Hyland House, ISBN 0-947062-06-8