Published on 19 February 2026

Inter-library lending

If you are registered with the Library Am Guisanplatz BiG you can also order documents from other libraries via the inter-library lending service. This service is free of charge for employees of the Federal Administration and the Armed Forces.

National and international literature procurement: BiG's interlibrary loan service — © istock

• Inter-library lending service for federal employees

  As an employee of the Federal Administration you can borrow documents free of charge via the BiG from swisscovery libraries or other institutions in Switzerland or abroad. Simply contact us via the online form (Books or Articles) or send us an email.

  NB: If you order directly via swisscovery, you will have to pay the inter-library lending costs yourself. SLSP will invoice you for this.

  Requirements for free interlibrary lending

  • You have a SWITCH edu-ID and have registered on SLSP (Swiss Library Service Platform)
  • You have looked in the Alexandria search portal to check that the publication is not in the BiG holdings
  • You provide the BiG with complete and precise bibliographical details of the requested publication (Books or articles)

  Delivery times

  • Orders for print media (books and print copies) from Swiss libraries are usually delivered within three to ten working days
  • For electronic copies (PDFs) the delivery time is two to three working days
  • For orders from libraries abroad, the delivery time can vary greatly and take up to several weeks, depending on the country and the library concerned

  Lending period, renewals

  • The lending period is set by the library that owns the publication (usually one month with the possibility of renewal)
  • Media that may not be borrowed from the library can be consulted at our workstations on the premises
  • If you wish to renew an item, please notify the inter-library lending staff before the lending period expires

  • If you order an item that may not removed from the library, you may consult it on the premises.
  • If you wish to renew an item, please notify the inter-library lending staff before the lending period expires. 

  Returns

  You can return borrowed items at the front desk or return them carefully packed to the BiG by post. You are liable for lost or damaged documents.

• Inter-library lending service for users who are not federal employees

  To use the interlibrary lending service via the BiG you must be registered on the SLSP (Swiss Library Service Platform) with a SWITCH edu-ID.

  The rates for ordering documents outside SLSP are as follows:

  • Switzerland: CHF 12.00 per item
  • Europe: CHF 24.00 per item
  • UK and overseas: CHF 36.00 per item

  Charges are invoiced via SLSP.
  

  Please note that the BiG does not handle orders for items that are available via swisscovery.

• Inter-library lending service for libraries and documentation centres

  Institutions that have an institutional account with SLSP can register via the online form (books or articles) or by email to borrow items from the BiG holdings.

  Items should arrive within three to ten working days. For interlibrary lending outside Switzerland, the BiG charges a full IFLA voucher per item ordered.

  Works published more than 80 years ago and valuable documents from our special collections cannot be borrowed via the interlibrary lending service. However, you can request a reproduction of these works.

Further information

• Library collection
• Order form inter-library exchange - Books
• Order form inter-library exchange - Articles

Fees and charges schedule

• Fees and charges schedule

  PDF137.73 kB1 January 2026