On this page we present a selection of useful bibliographic research tools.
These ressources focus on Switzerland, except the two last research tools, OAIster and BASE, which allow searching for articles on the servers of research institutions all over the world.
An exhaustive list of all Swiss libraries is also available at Switch.
Swissbib
Swissbib is the new official meta-catalog of the Swiss university libraries and the National Swiss Library. A beta-version has been recently released. It should eventually replace other regional meta-catalogs.
Swiss German Information Network (IDS)
In service since 1999, the Swiss German Information Network (IDS) unites the catalogs of all the universities and schools of higher learning in German-speaking Switzerland (about 450 libraries). IDS makes it possible to do one single search – or meta-search – which includes the networks of the libraries in French-speaking Switzerland, in Ticino, and in Liechtenstein.
Meta RERO
The Library Network of Western Switzerland (RERO) allows a simultaneous search of all the large libraries in French-speaking Switzerland (about 215 libraries). The network also maintains a digital library (RERO DOC) with documents accessible in plain text. The federated research tool RERO – or Meta RERO – also makes it possible to search the other Swiss library networks and proposes a selection of digital resources online.
Swiss National Library (NL)
The website of the Swiss National Library contains the online catalog Helveticat and the catalog for the conserved archives at the NL, Helveticarchives, as well as numerous reference resources, like the Swiss National Bibliography or the Swiss Bibliography of History.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the online catalogue of the Swiss Federal Administration Libraries. This meta-catalogue offers access to the libraries of the Federal Chancellery and all departments.
Swiss virtual catalog
The Swiss virtual catalog allows a simultaneous search in the catalogs of about thirty libraries and networks of libraries in Switzerland. This is a useful tool for consulting the catalogs of certain municipal or specialized libraries that are not represented in RERO or IDS. The Swiss virtual catalog uses the same technology as the virtual catalog of Karlsruhe.
Archives Online
Archives Online is a meta search engine for finding archival material in the participating archives.
Swiss Periodical Portal (PSP)
The Swiss Periodical Portal (PSP) enables the localization of serial publications in the catalogs of the principal Swiss libraries.
Electronic Journal Library (EZB)
The Electronic Journal Library is a directory of online scientific and academic journals. It generates a list of accessible journals for each participating library. More than 2000 historical journals are listed.
E-Periodica
retro.seals.ch has been digitizing and putting scientific periodicals of all disciplines online since 2008. The journal articles are accessible in plain text and searchable by keywords. Among the history journals already available are la Revue suisse d’histoire, Traverse : Revue d’histoire, Histoire des Alpes, and Histoire et Informatique. A powerful resource for scrutinizing scientific literature.
e-rara.ch
e-rara is a digital library of early printed books (16e - 19th centuries) preserved in swiss libraries. Reformation history, astrology and architecture are the main focuses of the collection. Circa 1000 titles can be downloaded in PDF format or viewed online.
OAIster
OAIster is one of the most-used search engines using the protocol OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) to find scientific literature among more than 1000 research institutions. OAIster is now included in WorldCat, the largest global bibliographic database.
Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)
BASE is a meta-search engine using the OAI-PMH protocol to search academic repositories. It includes the Eurovoc Thesaurus which generates synonyms in 21 languages and allows to broaden your query.