What's RefFest?!
We're doubling down on all the ways we offer to help you reference things right and cite with certainty.
What's new - from referencing pop-ups to RefFest
Once upon a time, not so long ago, we used to host referencing pop-ups in the Library Atrium. Since we moved out there permanently, we found we needed new ways to get the message out as assignment deadlines approach that we are here to help you with your referencing.
We've also added new services to help you better over time and we really want to make sure you know about all the ways we can help all year round. RefFest is just one more way we are committed to getting the word out about the referencing help we offer!
That's why we are excited to announce RefFest – our festival of APA 7th ed. referencing support – running from 16 – 27 November 2026.
What's on offer
While we can't proof read your referencing or do it for you (because you get marks for it), we can help you:
- Understand referencing - what it is, how the referencing style you have been asked to use works, why the "cite" button in every eresource can be both your best friend and your worst enemy, and how to use our self-help referencing guidance.
- Find specific guidance - what often trips people up is finding the specific guidance for precisely what they are trying to reference. Often half the work with obscure sources is working out what it is you are trying to reference so you can find the right guidance and reference it accurately, and we are all up for that.
- Get started - We can work through example references with you for each type of source you have used and check you understand how to create references.
- Understand the oddities - There are lots of odd things that come up when you try to reference things, and we have decades of collective experience dealing with them. Ask our experts how best to handle your unusual sources, unfamiliar foreign names, frustratingly missing information, unpublished and confidential sources, and more.
- Check for systemic errors - While we can't do your referencing for you, we can look over an assignment and spot where you are making the same errors over and over again, and that tends to be where you start losing serious marks for referencing. We can help you fix those little misunderstandings that might otherwise bring down your overall mark, and gain confidence in your referencing, so you can focus on writing great content.
Join us in person, online, or book a librarian and really get stuck in!
- In person - We pop up permanently nowadays, so you can just swing by the Library Help Desk in the Atrium and ask a friendly librarian anything about referencing at any time between 11 am - 3 pm, Monday - Friday. Bring your assignment(s) that you want to chat about. We can even show you new academic resources and help you find more quality academic information at the same time, if that would help!
- Online chat - Click on the hovering chat button that pops up on every Library webpage and chat with the same friendly league of librarians online - send us links to things you are struggling to reference, show us your references, or even share your assignment and we can share links to the specific guidance you need, check individual references, and explain how referencing works in a relaxed text-based conversation. Local library staff are available 9 am - 4.50 pm Monday - Friday, but our colleagues around the world step in when we go home and so you can chat with a librarian 24/7 every day of the year.
- Book a librarian - If you know you have a bunch of stuff to work through, book a librarian for a referencing appointment through our Referencing webpages and sit down for a half hour online consultation. Like being at the help desk but online, 30 minutes long, and free from any risk of interruptions and distractions. So if you have lots to chat about, go ahead and book a slot to chat with a librarian online!
- Email us - You can email us about referencing and we'll get back to you. Online chat is probably easier, though, and after 5 pm will definitely get you a faster answer, so we always recommend you try that first!