Information for professionals

The National Library’s mandate is to collect Helvetica: all printed and digital publications relating to Switzerland.

The Swiss National Library catalogues its documents and makes them accessible. Descriptive cataloguing and subject indexing are carried out according to international standards. A range of catalogues and bibliographies are available; some can be accessed via the internet while others can only be consulted on site.

The National Library’s mandate is to preserve books and documents for future generations. This requires optimum storage and, in many cases, conservation measures to keep objects in the best possible condition.

In addition to collecting documents, the Swiss National Library ensures that interested parties and researchers can use them.

The National Library collects and archives e-books, e-journals, electronic university publications and websites related to Switzerland (e-Helvetica) in collaboration with national and international partners.

The ISSN Centre Switzerland is run by the Swiss National Library. It assigns an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) free of charge to Swiss serial publications.

In Switzerland, ISIL international standard identifiers for libraries and documentation centres are issued by the ISIL Centre based at the National Library.