Please register online under 'Registration'. You can then borrow items from the BiG free of charge. Please refer to our schedule of charges and User regulations.

We can help you with the registration process if required.

If you have a library pass from an institution belonging to the Bibliopass lending association, you can use this at the BiG once you have registered.

Under www.alexandria.ch click on ‘Sign in’ in the top right hand corner of the screen, then select ‘Login with SWITCH edu-ID’. Enter your email address and password. In your user account you can see when the books you have borrowed need to be returned. Please make any changes to your personal details (address, email, password) on the SWITCH edu-ID page.

On the SWITCH edu-ID page, select ‘Forgot password?’.

You can borrow up to 30 items at one time from the BiG.

The BiG has a non-lending collection, open-access holdings and underground stacks. As items are not arranged by topic, you will need to do a search using Alexandria or swisscovery.

Items can be borrowed from the open-access holdings and underground stacks; those in the non-lending collection may be consulted on the premises.

Once you have registered on the SLSP, you can order items online via www.alexandria.ch.

Items will be sent to you by post (or federal courier) or you can collect them from the front desk during the library opening times.  

The following documents may be consulted on the premises only:

• Works published before 1914
• Works in the non-lending collection
• Works in the special collections
• Works that are very valuable or classified.

Books can usually be borrowed for 28 days, periodicals for 14 days. It is possible to renew items automatically up to five times.

If an item you borrow is subsequently reserved by another library user, you will be asked to return it (after a minimum lending period of four weeks).

Fines etc. are charged according to the BiG’s schedule of charges. Bills are issued directly via the SLSP. Cash payments on the premises are not possible.

Items not held at the BiG can be ordered for Federal Administration employees from another library, according to that library’s lending terms. Users who are not federal employees can make only limited use of this service. More information can be found under Inter-library lending service. 

Write to us at bibliothek@gs-vbs.admin.ch, and we will be able to put you in touch with the right person. 

The collections held at the BiG largely reflect the topics dealt with by the Federal Administration: economics, history, military, politics and law. Further information on our holdings can be found under Holdings and Collections.

If you wish to gift the BiG items from your private collection, please first draw up an inventory with all the bibliographic details (title, author, publisher, year published) and send it to recherchen@gs-vbs.admin.ch.

Please note that we can only accept items that reflect the profile of the library’s collections.

All users have free access to all articles and databases in the Alexandria search portal.

However, only employees of the Federal Administration and of the military can access the full range databases, e-books and e-journals. If you are a member of the public and interested in one of these items, please ask the library staff about the inter-library lending service via fernleihe@gs-vbs.admin.ch.

You can find more information at E-media.

Please refer to the information at E-media.

and/or contact us at bibliothek@gs-vbs.admin.ch so that we can help you further.

A team of specialist staff can help you with your search. This service is free of charge. Please contact recherchen@gs-vbs.admin.ch or send us your request by completing the form Documentation request. If you would like help at the library premises, please make an appointment beforehand.

More information on general search techniques can be found at Search tips.

Would you like to know more about the BiG’s history, the listed building, its special collections and its services? Why not book a 30- or 60-minute guided tour?

More information and the booking form can be found under Guided tours.

The BiG has a number of rooms that can be booked free of charge by both Federal Administration and military employees and the general public. The rooms have disabled access. More information and the booking form can be found under Meeting room reservations.

You can work in peace at the BiG at one of the workstations available during the library’s opening times. Workstations cannot be reserved in advance. For more information, please see Workstations and infrastructure.

A printer and photocopier can be used free of charge. Please bring a USB flashdrive to save your scanned documents.

The BiG can be easily reached by public transport: take tram number 9 to the Guisanplatz Expo tramstop and you will see the library on the crossroads, diagonally opposite the stop.

For more information, please see Opening times and where to find us. 

The BiG is open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 11am and from 2 to 4pm. If you enter the building before 11am, you can leave at any time, but may not be able to reenter the building before it opens again at 2pm. The front desk is closed over lunchtime. For more information, please ask at the front desk.

No, the BiG does not have a box for returned items. Please return items by post, courier or in person at the front desk.