The CAVAL Archival and Research Shared Collection is a nationally significant repository of last-copy published material purchased and contributed by CAVAL member libraries.

The Shared Collection is comprised of around 386,058 monographs and 19,310 serial titles, over 200,000 of which are unique copies among CAVAL member libraries. It contains materials dating back as far as the 16th century, and from 1850 onwards every decade of academic library purchasing is represented within the collection.

CAVAL welcomes accessing and borrowing of the Shared Collection. To ensure our items are available as widely as possible, a CAVAL membership is not required to borrow items from the collection. Instead, collection materials can be requested via Inter-Library loan (ILL) or Document Delivery at most Australian libraries.

Items may also be viewed onsite in the CAVAL Reading Room, located at 4 Park Drive Bundoora Victoria. Please allow 24 hours for us to process your request. To request items for viewing onsite, or for assistance searching for or requesting material in the CAVAL Archival and Research Shared Collection, please contact the Shared Collection team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To make a copy request or request to borrow items from the collection, please contact your library, and they will make the request on your behalf. Please note that any requests from our member libraries take precedence over general requests.

If you are a from a member library that is listed below please contact your library to request from our collection.