1989: RMIT University’s librarian Professor Don Schauder began working on a product with the aim of preserving and improving access to Australian indexes. The name of this product – Informit – emerged from a combination of the words ‘Information’ and ‘RMIT’. Professor Schauder was also one of the key visionaries behind what is now RMIT Publishing.

1990: The release of AUSTROM on CD-ROM marked the first time Australian indexes had ever been made available electronically via subscription. A range of other indexes followed, many of which still exist as part of Informit. These indexes continue to be highly valued as they make available a wealth searchable of information that has not been digitised anywhere else.

1997: RMIT Publishing was formed through the merging of Informit and TAFE Publications. This enabled consolidation of core subject strengths Health and Law (e.g. with AUSTHealth and AUSTLaw databases).

1999: Informit Indexes move from CD-ROM to online

2000: Full text articles were in demand and Informit indexes began to evolve into new ‘Plus Text’ equivalents, starting with the launch of Australian Public Affairs – Full Text (APA-FT), the full text equivalent of APAIS. This was the result of a 10 year collaboration between RMIT Publishing, the National Library of Australia and Copyright Agency Ltd.

2000 to 2003: Collaboration with existing partners continued, leading to additional Plus Text products including AGISPlus Text (with the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department) and A+ Education (with the Australian Council for Educational Research).

2003: The 100% full text collection was born, with Informit E-Library (rebranded as the ‘Informit Collections’ since 2009). Content for these Collections is licensed and indexed by RMIT Publishing directly from Australasian publishers and associations. Over two thirds of the content is available exclusively online via Informit.

2007: The launch of  TVNews and RequestTV databses enabled for the first time educators and students to locate, download and include broadcast news and current affairs in their research.

2009: Backfiles Collections were introduced for two highly reputable journals, Meanjin and Media International Australia.

2010: Created in response to growing demand for allied health and family related research the new Informit Health Collection and Informit Families & Society Collection enjoy critical success and positive feedback from the library and research community.

2011+: Our product range and depth of coverage continues to expand in response to feedback and the needs of the research community. We continue to expand our international reach, commissioning authoritative content from overseas and introducing Informit to universities and organisations in Hong Kong, Singapore, India, South Africa and Europe.