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Swiss National Library

Coordinates: 46°56′29″N 7°26′59″E / 46.94139°N 7.44972°E / 46.94139; 7.44972
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Swiss National Library
Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (German)
Bibliothèque nationale suisse (French)
Biblioteca nazionale svizzera (Italian)
The Swiss National Library building in Berne
Map
46°56′29″N 7°26′59″E / 46.94139°N 7.44972°E / 46.94139; 7.44972
LocationBerne, Switzerland
Established1895 (129 years ago) (1895)
Reference to legal mandateLaw about the Swiss National Library (available in German, French and Italian)
Branches1 (Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel)
Collection
Items collectedbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, maps, official publications, posters, drawings and manuscripts
Size5.1M items
Criteria for collectionHelvetica: publications published in Switzerland or written by Swiss authors or concerning Switzerland
Legal depositNo, but agreements with publishers
Access and use
Access requirementsReading rooms: free.
Registration for lending: be Swiss resident or citizen over 18
Circulation78,000 (2007)
Other information
Budget32.9M Swiss francs (2008, incl. internal federal costing; $31.8M, 2nd quarter 2008)
DirectorMs. Marie-Christine Doffey (since 2005)
Employees160 (124 FTE)
WebsiteOfficial website in English

The Swiss National Library (German: Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek, French: Bibliothèque nationale suisse, Italian: Biblioteca nazionale svizzera) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office of Culture, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields, disciplines, and media connected with Switzerland, as well as ensuring the widest possible accessibility and dissemination of such data.

The Swiss National Library is intended to be open to all and, by the breadth and scope of its collection, aims to reflect the plurality and diversity of Swiss culture. It is a heritage site of national significance.[1]

The institution has been going through a period of change since 1990. This phase was given the name of RAMSES: Reorganisation for an Automated Management System and Enhanced Services. The principal objective of this project was to modernise the structure and operation of the Library and to increase services to borrowers and users with a view to transforming the Library into an information centre of truly national proportions.

Chronology

  • 1894 The Council of States and the National Council ratify the federal decision by which the Swiss National Library is founded, June 26 and 28.
  • 1895 The institution starts work on May 2 in a four-roomed apartment at No 7 Christoffelgasse in Berne. The collected works are opened to the public four years later in the Federal Archive Building.
  • 1901 The Swiss national bibliography Bibliographisches Bulletin der Schweizerischen Landesbibliothek is published for the first time.
  • 1911 The Federal law enacts the Swiss National Library.
  • 1915 The Swiss National Library and the Swiss publishers came to an agreement: the Swiss publishers offer the Swiss National Library a copy of each one of their publications.
  • 1928 The Swiss Union Catalogue is created.
  • 1931 Move to the Library's present premises at No 15 Hallwylstrasse.
  • 1989 The National Library becomes part of the Federal Office of Culture Affairs.
  • 1991 At the instigation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the Swiss Literary Archives are inaugurated.
  • 1992 The Parliament votes the new law on the Swiss National Library.
  • 1993 VTLS library management software is introduced
  • 1994 Access to Helveticat, the automated catalogue, goes public.
  • 1995 Swiss ISSN Centre is opened. The same year the Swiss National Library takes part in the foundation of MEMORIAV, the association for the preservation of the audiovisual heritage of Switzerland.
  • 1996 The Swiss Posters catalogue (CCSA, Catalogue collectif des affiches suisses) goes on line.
  • 1997 Inauguration of the underground stacks east
  • 2000 Inauguration of the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel.
  • 2001 The Swiss National Library returns to its premises which had been considerably renovated and enlarged.
  • 2003 SwissInfoDesk, a commented list of relevant links about Swiss topics, goes online.
  • 2005 The Swiss National Library launches the project Virtual information about Switzerland, a partnership between libraries. The participating libraries transfer the readers demands to the library which is specialised in the field.
  • 2006 The Swiss National Library is run according to the principles of New Public Management.
  • 2009 Inauguration of the underground stacks west
  • 2011 The Swiss Literary Archives begin collecting in a new area and acquire their first publisher's archive, that of Peter Schifferli's Arche-Verlag.
  • 2011 The e-Helvetica electronic collections are accessible for research.
  • 2012 Strategy 2012–2019: "The future is digital. But paper remains."

Collections

The Swiss National Library collection includes an extensive collection of books, newspapers, maps and atlases, official publications and printed music. The National Library's book collection contains the entire output of Swiss publishers in all languages, and adds almost 15,000 new publications in a given year.[2]

In addition to printed works, the National Library also allows access to digitized recordings at either the National Library in Bern or the Swiss National Sound Archives in Lugano.

Special collections that are housed at the National Library include the Lüthi Bible Collection, musical estates, the Archives of the New Helvetic Society and many more collections on topics including library science, press and radio, politics, sports, science and geneaology.[3]

The National Library has an extensive poster collection as part of its Prints and Drawings department that covers Swiss poster production.[4] The poster collection includes the Claude Kuhn Archive, which features over 350 posters created by the Bernese artist.[5]

Quarto

Quarto is the journal of the Swiss National Library and focuses on a different one of Switzerland's four literatures (German, French, Italian and Romansh) with texts and essays on the featured literature. The journal is published once or twice each year.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance (1995), p. 105.
  2. ^ NL, Swiss National Library. "Books". www.nb.admin.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  3. ^ NL, Swiss National Library. "Other special collections". www.nb.admin.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  4. ^ NL, Swiss National Library. "Posters: overview". www.nb.admin.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  5. ^ NL, Swiss National Library. "Claude Kuhn archive". www.nb.admin.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  6. ^ NL, Swiss National Library. "Quarto". www.nb.admin.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
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