ETH Library

ETH Library is the largest public scientific and technical library in Switzerland. As the central university library and knowledge hub of ETH Zurich, the ETH Library ensures the provision of scientific and technical information. Furthermore, it also offers resources for the public and companies in research and development. Particular emphasis is placed on electronic information for university members and the development of innovative services.

ETH Library
LocationZurich, Switzerland
TypeScientific library, University library
Established1855
Collection
SizeOver 8,450,000 items
Other information
DirectorRafael Ball
Websitewww.library.ethz.ch
ETH Zurich in the evening

Collection focuses

ETH Library collects media from the following fields:[1]

Special Libraries

ETH Library's four special libraries are responsible for supplying subject-specific literature to the corresponding departments and institutes at ETH Zurich. Their holdings are also generally available to the interested public. The special libraries include:

  • Architecture and Civil Engineering Library: architecture, urban and spatial planning; Material Collection:[2]
  • Earth Sciences Library: geosciences
  • GESS Library: humanities, social sciences, economics, law and politics
  • Green Library: agricultural and food science, environmental science

Collections and Archives

ETH Library's Collections and Archives contain valuable original holdings of scientific and cultural-historical relevance. The Collections and Archives[3] include:

  • Rare Books: works from the 15th to the 20th century
  • #Image Archive: historical photographs, aerial photographs, press photographs, portraits, postcards and much more.
  • Earth Science Collections: fossils, minerals, rocks and reliefs
  • ETH Zurich's Collection of Prints and Drawings: Switzerland's largest collection of printed works
  • University Archives: Administrative Archives of ETH Zurich and the ETH Board, personal papers of scientists
  • Maps: historical and modern, topographical and topical maps
  • Material Collection: building and historical materials
  • Max Frisch Archive: personal papers Max Frisch, primary and secondary literature
  • Cultural Assets Collection: art objects, art in architecture, the Sternwarte Collection
  • Thomas Mann Archive: personal papers Thomas Mann, primary and secondary literature

Image Archive
Image Archive of ETH Library
LocationRämistrasse 101, Zurich, Switzerland
TypeImage Archive
Established2000
Collection
Sizec. 3.2 million images
Other information
WebsiteETH Library’s Image Archive
The Image archive is located in the main building of ETH Zurich

The Image Archive of ETH Library indexes the library's image holdings. Its nationally and internationally significant image holdings document the development of ETH Zurich, research expeditions, settlement development and changes in society, politics and technology in Switzerland. Launched in 2000 as an organizational unit of ETH Library, the Image Archive curates a large number of image holdings acquired by the library in recent decades, such as within the scope of academic legacies. Searches and online access to the Image Archive's digitized holdings are available via E-Pics Bildarchiv Online. A growing number of sub-holdings are also available on Wikimedia Commons. In the series Image Worlds[4] (photographs from ETH Library's Image Archive), the archive's core holdings are presented thematically in texts and pictures.

Content-related focuses

ETH Library's Image Archive includes image holdings with a direct relation to the history of ETH Zurich and its architectural and staff development. In particular, this includes:

  • scenes (from around 1860 onwards): historical photographs of buildings, institutes, lecture theaters and laboratories at ETH Zurich
  • portraits: portraits of former members and students of ETH Zurich and notable scientists
  • photograph collections from institutes at ETH Zurich: e.g. Geobotanical Institute/Rübel Foundation, Geological Institute, Institute of Aerodynamics, Institute of Building Conservation (Georg Mörsch) or the Photographic Institute
  • photographs and drawings from the personal papers of former professors at ETH Zurich: e.g. Albert Frey-Wyssling, Immanuel Friedlaender, Albert Heim, Arnold Heim, Robert Maillart, Leopold Ruzicka, Carl Schroeter, Leo Wehrli or Hans Leibundgut

The Image Archive has some extensive image holdings bearing a broader relation to science and technology and topics such as civil aviation, landscape and settlement development, architecture or nature photography:

  • Foundation Luftbild Schweiz Archive (1918–2011): aerial photographs by Walter Mittelholzer from flights over Switzerland and to Persia, South Africa, Chad, Abyssinia, Svalbard or as the first to fly over Kilimanjaro, portrait and landscape shots of Switzerland, taken by the Swissair Photo AG
  • Swissair Photo Archives (1931–2001): photographs and films on civil aviation, the aviation business and aircraft and destinations of the former Swiss airline Swissair
  • Comet Photo AG Archive (1952–1999): media images on topics such as architecture, culture, nature, politics, prominence, sport, technology, and transport about Switzerland
  • Scenes (from around 1860 onwards): landscapes and views of locations (primarily Switzerland)
  • Other private image holdings: Photo archive of the foundation Documenta Natura, photo archive of the Industriekultur Foundation of Dr Hans-Peter Bärtschi, aerial image archive of Air Color SA (Meyrin), nature photographs by Albert Krebs and orchid photographs by Hans R. Reinhard

The image materials serve as a primary information source and reference material for studies on image production and usage. Last but not least, the copies, negatives, glass slides and individual films also document the technical development of the image as a medium.

Selected key figures for ETH Library's holdings

ETH Library's holdings comprise around 8 million analog and around 550,000 digital resources. As of September 2022, these include:

Analog resources

Monographs and journal volumes 3'003'361
Image documents 3'791'324
Maps 343'096
Archival material in linear meters 5'025

Digital resources

Digital image documents 876'620
E-books 957'993
Dissertations, articles and reports in the ETH E-Collection 82'716
Licensed e-journals 45'196
Databases 150

The holdings of all ETH Zurich libraries, as well as more than 490 libraries across Switzerland, are available on ETH Library @ swisscovery. ETH Library @ swisscovery therefore provides access to more than 30 million books, series, journals and non-book materials.

Digital search platform

Research Collection

The Research Collection [5] is ETH Zurich's publication platform. University members can publish their scientific full texts open access as well as archive their research data and make them accessible to the public. Furthermore, the Research Collection records all publications produced at ETH Zurich and serves as a source for publication lists in academic reporting and on ETH Zurich's websites.

Other nationally relevant platforms operated by ETH Library
  • e-rara.ch: digitized prints from Swiss libraries from the 15th to the 19th century
  • e-manuscripta.ch: digitized handwritten sources from Swiss libraries and archives
  • E-Pics: digitized photographs, image documents and 3D scans from collections, archives, institutes and units of ETH Zurich and external partners[6]
  • E-Periodica: digitized Swiss journals in the fields of science and culture from the 18th century to the present day[7]
  • Thomas Mann: manuscripts and press articles on Thomas Mann

Selected services

Circulation courier

Library customers have the option of having documents from the institutions participating in the Swiss Library Service Platform delivered to the library of their choice.[8]

DOI Desk

ETH Zurich's DOI Desk[9] is located at the ETH Library and acts as a central DOI registration center for universities and research institutions in Switzerland. This service is also provided in collaboration with DataCite.

Research Data Management and Digital Curation

The specialist Research Data Management and Digital Curation[10] office advises researchers at ETH Zurich on aspects of handling research data and digital data in general. The ETH Data Archive provides the technical infrastructure for the electronic long-term archiving and publication of this data.

E-Publishing office

As a central contact point for open access within ETH Zurich, ETH Library helps members of ETH Zurich to publish their dissertations, articles, reports and much more in a freely accessible way online.[11]

DigiCenter

"The Digitization Centre at the ETH Library is the service provider and competence center in the fields of digitization and the handling of metadata. In cooperation with various institutions of ETH Zurich and Swiss libraries, it carries out large-scale and high-quality digitization projects".[12]

Ongoing projects

ETH Library conducts some future-oriented projects, which ensure that the service and product portfolio is geared towards the needs of the target groups".[13]

References
  1. "Locations and media". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. "Material Archiv". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. "Collections and Archives". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. "Regina Wanger (2016): E-Periodica – Eine Plattform für digitalisierte Zeitschriften". Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  5. "Research Collection". Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  6. "e-pics". Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  7. "About E-Periodica". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  8. "Unsere Services für Bibliotheken und deren Kundinnen und Kunden". Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  9. "ETH Zurich DOI Desk". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  10. "Research data management". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  11. "Open access at ETH Zurich". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  12. "Digitisation". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  13. "Projects". Retrieved 2015-11-03.

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