Read an overview of what we have in our wide ranging collections below or download our Collection Management Policy [pdf] which describes the Library's collecting responsibilities, including statements on collection principles, criteria for selection, criteria for deselection and retention, fund allocation, resource sharing and special collections.

General lending collections

Book Collection

The Hub Library has the largest collection of books (approx 54,000 titles) with smaller collections at Building One Library and Waitākere Unitec Library. The collections reflect the learning needs of each library's user community. In total the libraries contain approximately 97,000 books. We also subscribe to over 160,000 e-books.

Audio Visual Collection

Each library has AV materials, consisting of videos, DVDs, cassettes, CDs and similar. This material can be borrowed. At Waitākere and Building 1 these items are found in a separate location. At the Hub Library, these materials are shelved within the main book collection.

Course specific collections

Course Reserve Collection

The Course Reserve collection is used to manage the circulation of high demand titles and includes books, articles, and audio-visual material. Most items are issued for two hours only, although some are available to take home for a limited time. Each library has its own Course Reserve collection appropriate to its users. Items not returned on time will be subject to fines.

 

Exams

The Library catalogue includes links to exam papers in pdf format for most Unitec courses. See our help page on how to access the exam papers.

Journals

Online journals

We have online access to over 40,000 full text electronic journals. Our electronic journal titles are listed in the Library catalogue and the Journal finder list. Most are located within searchable databases we subscribe to.

Print journals

The Libraries also subscribe to approximately 400 printed journal titles to supplement our electronic journal databases. Students and staff may borrow most copies for up to 9 days.

Reference and special collections

Reference Collections (includes business, trade and community related information)

Each library has a reference collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps and other material which provides quick and concise facts. See also our e-reference page for online links to these sort of items and others, such as phone books.

Building One Library has an 'Arts File' collection which includes art exhibition catalogues and other information on NZ artists of an ephemeral nature, where there is pictorial content.

Waitākere Unitec Library has a collection of Waitākere local community information.

Te Kohinga Māori / Māori Collection

The Hub Library has a Māori collection (Te Kohinga Māori) which contains books and audio-visual resources on Māori culture, history and society. This is a reference collection, but most of these resources are also available as lending copies from within the library’s main collection. For Google streetviews of this collection see Hub Library Te Kohinga Māori.

Pacific Collection

Waitākere Library has a Pacific collection which focuses on Health and Social development. It contains books on Health, society, culture, identity, government reports and history of the Pacific Islands. As this is a reference collection, lending copies are also available for most of the items in the General collection.

NZ Standards

The Hub Library and Building One have selected NZ standards appropriate to their user community. These are part of the reference collection and so cannot be taken out of the Library. A complete set of NZ standards is available online

Fred Tschopp Collection

This special collection is located in the Building One Library. It includes many of Fred's photos, plans and papers from his time in New Zealand. Fred Tschopp came to New Zealand at the start of the Depression and made plans for five parks in Auckland, such as Craigavon Park in Blockhouse Bay. He also worked on many other major projects around the country, including the Prime Ministerial residence in Wellington. To access the collection do a keyword search in the catalogue for the phrase "Fred Tschopp Collection". See also this related news article.

Student Reports

The Library accepts student reports where they provide information on unique research. These can be borrowed from the library.

Unitec Theses

The Hub Library holds a copy of all Unitec theses in a closed collection. Their call number can be found via our catalogue and the physical item can be used in the Library only. Most theses completed since 2006 are available online via the Unitec Research Bank and the Kiwi Research Information Service (KRIS).

Recreational Reading Collection

This collection is housed in the Hub Library. Its role is to promote and encourage literacy amongst students. Popular genres, both fiction and non-fiction are collected. There is a great selection of graphic novels available.

Electronic resources

NB. Access to electronic resources is restricted to Unitec staff and students. Click here for more information.

E-Books

The library subscribes to over 234,000 e-books which are accessible through our catalogue. Find out how to access e-books.

E-Journals and articles

We have access to over 40,000 full text electronic journals. Our e-journal titles are listed in the library catalogue and our Journal finder list . If you know the details of the article you are looking for you can obtain it by using the Citation Linker from LibrarySearch right-hand menu.

Databases

The library subscribes to a number of databases which include academic articles and reference information. You can access them from the Databases A-Z list.

Subject Guides

The guides are pages on our website which provide a 'one stop shop' for each subject area. In each guide our expert Knowledge specialists have gathered together research databases relevant to a particular teaching area as well as subject specific websites and relevant online resources. You can access the guides from the subject guides index.

(Updated July 2016)