After many years, the BONUS+ book-sharing service will cease on Monday 14 November due to the withdrawal of all member libraries. We know many of you are fans of the service and might feel disappointed to hear this news. But rest assured, your library will continue to provide access to a wide range of resources to help you with your study and research needs.

For further information please contact your library below:

Federation University Library – contact Ask the Library or Phone 1300 552 567 (available during library opening hours)

The University of Melbourne Library - contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Ask a Librarian (available during library opening hours)

The University of Newcastle Library - https://www.newcastle.edu.au/library/help-and-information

 

The history of BONUS+

It was the first international implementation of INN-Reach direct consortial software from Innovative Interfaces Inc.

BONUS+ was launched in October 2007 by six Australian libraries in New South Wales and Victoria, and grew steadily from then to include at its peak two university libraries in New Zealand, and ten across six Australian states and territories. Since June 2018 to December 2022, Helpdesk support and systems management was provided by CAVAL.

The service was very popular with clients, and requesting was available to all registered staff and students, including undergraduates, who did not always have access to traditional interlibrary loan services in Australia. Registered library clients could place requests and borrow books as simply as they can within their own university library system. Searches were carried seamlessly across from local catalogues and discovery layers to the BONUS+ central catalogue, and clients could then place requests online for items not available for loan at their local library.

Member libraries determined the extent of their collections to be shared. 65% of the titles in BONUS+ are owned by only one library, extending the individual library collections and removing geographical barriers. Items were delivered to the requesting library branch nominated by the borrower with all delivery costs, which are economical, covered.

Since its inception, more than 760,000 books have been borrowed via BONUS+, and 830,000 library clients have used BONUS+. Our fulfilment rate was consistently over 91%. Through the BONUS+ central catalogue, staff and students of the member universities had access to over 3.4 million titles and 6.6 million copies of monographs that are collectively owned by their libraries.

We thank you all for your support and use of the BONUS+ system over the years. 

Previous BONUS+ Members:

  • The University of Newcastle, NSW
  • The University of Melbourne, VIC
  • Federation University Australia, VIC
  • Victoria University of Technology, VIC
  • Queensland University of Technology, QLD
  • Deakin University, VIC
  • Auckland University of Technology, NZ
  • Griffith University, QLD
  • Murdoch University, WA
  • University of Wollongong, NSW
  • Massey University, NZ
  • University of Sydney, NSW
  • University of Technology Sydney, NSW
  • Australian National University, ACT
  • Edith Cowan University, WA
  • University of Tasmania, TAS