Services

We offer a wide range of services to assist you. Our team helps users with their research, plans exhibitions, shows visitors rare collector's items and much more besides. Explore the fascinating world of our library.

Borrowing from the Zentralbibliothek Zürich

You can get access to more than 6 million media from the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. Welcome to a world of knowledge!

Courier and interlibrary loan services

If you are looking for specific literature that you have been unable to find in the Zentralbibliothek Zürich, you can order documents via courier, pos...

Requesting items from our holdings

If you are interested in a book or a volume of a periodical that is in our closed stacks or one of our external stores, or want copies from books or m...

Using e-media

Are you interested in using electronic media? We’ll help you find your way through the e-media jungle.

Advice services at the Zentralbibliothek

Looking for literature but don’t know where to find it? Drop by or make an appointment. We will be happy to offer you free assistance with your resear...

Education and training

Are you interested in studying library science? Then you are in the right place!

Training courses and guided tours

Zentralbibliothek Zürich training courses and guided tours offer an insight into the multifaceted resources of one of Switzerland’s biggest libraries....

Rules & fees

To enable us to keep our extensive holdings in the best possible condition for all users at all times, there are a few essential rules that everyone m...

Search tips

Are you looking for literature to help with a lecture, thesis or further education course, but do not know how to go about it? This page offers some a...

Promoting research

The Zentralbibliothek promotes research and the publication of research results.

Open access

By 2024, the target is for all research publications in Switzerland to be available via open access. But what is open access, how can I find open acce...

Gifts

If you would like to donate books or other media to the Zentralbibliothek, we will be delighted to hear from you! Unfortunately we cannot accept every...

The e-rara and e-manuscripta platforms

Would you like to view old manuscripts up close or browse through rare books from the comfort of your own home? You can do all of this and more via th...

The ZBcollections archive portal

ZBcollections allows you to search through the Zentralbibliothek’s Special Collections online. It includes manuscripts, sheet music, prints and drawin...

swisscollections

swisscollections is the gateway to historical and modern collections in Swiss libraries and archives.

Zurich Open Platform (ZOP)

Zurich Open Platform (ZOP) presents digital cultural heritage from the ZB as well as other cultural and academic institutions in the canton.

Workspaces & group rooms

The Zentralbibliothek Zürich offers around 600 public workspaces with modern equipment in the centre of Zurich.

The Zentralbibliothek Zürich Digitisation Centre (DigiZ)

The Zentralbibliothek Zürich Digitisation Centre is a centre of competence for retrodigitisation in Switzerland. It plays a key role in cooperative di...

Research and digitisation

The ZB supports external research projects and realises its own digitisation projects. For these purposes, we develop metadata and produce high-qualit...

PhD theses and habilitations from UZH

We collect and archive PhD theses and habilitations from all faculties from the University of Zurich ( (Faculty of Philosophy only habilitations)

Tell us what you think!

What is your experience of using the ZB? What are we doing well and what could we do better?

Suggest an acquisition

Is there a book, DVD or periodical you think should be in the ZB? We will be happy to receive your suggestions for media that are missing from our col...

Special services from the Special Collections

Our Special Collections include a wide variety of valuable objects, and we have a range of tailor-made services to match. Contact us to find out more.

Data resources

Do you use bibliographic data and digitised resources from the Zentralbibliothek Zürich in your research?

eBooks on Demand (EOD)

EOD allows you to order complete, high-quality digital copies of out-of-copyright books (published between 1500 and 1900) held by the Zentralbibliothe...

Escape Game

«Schnebelhorners Vermächtnis» is an escape game for 3-4 people. Currently, we are offering this service exclusively in German.

Culinary options at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich

Exhausted? Thirsty? Or simply had enough of studying? You’ll find plenty of comfort food to suit all requirements at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich.