Swiss National Library
Encyclopedia
The Swiss National Library is the national library
of Switzerland
. It is part of the Federal Office of Culture. Under the terms of the law which governs it, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields and disciplines, and in any medium, connected with Switzerland, as well as with ensuring the widest possible accessibility to and dissemination of such data.
The Swiss National Library is intended to be open to all, and, by the breadth and scope of its collection, it aims to reflect the plurality and diversity of Swiss culture. It is a heritage site of national significance
.
The institution has been going through a period of change since 1990. This phase was given the name of RAMSES: Reorganisation for an Automated Management System and Enhanced Services. The principal objective of this project was to modernise the structure and operation of the Library and to increase services to borrowers and users with a view to transforming the Library into an information centre of truly national proportions.
National library
A national library is a library specifically established by the government of a country to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books...
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It is part of the Federal Office of Culture. Under the terms of the law which governs it, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields and disciplines, and in any medium, connected with Switzerland, as well as with ensuring the widest possible accessibility to and dissemination of such data.
The Swiss National Library is intended to be open to all, and, by the breadth and scope of its collection, it aims to reflect the plurality and diversity of Swiss culture. It is a heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
.
The institution has been going through a period of change since 1990. This phase was given the name of RAMSES: Reorganisation for an Automated Management System and Enhanced Services. The principal objective of this project was to modernise the structure and operation of the Library and to increase services to borrowers and users with a view to transforming the Library into an information centre of truly national proportions.
Chronology
- 1894 The Council of States and the National Council ratify the federal decision by which the Swiss National Library is founded, June 26 and 28.
- 1895 The institution starts work on May 2 in a four-roomed apartment at No 7 Christoffelgasse in BerneBerneThe city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
. The collected works are opened to the public four years later in the Federal Archive Building. - 1901 The Swiss national bibliography Bibliographisches Bulletin der Schweizerischen Landesbibliothek is published for the first time.
- 1911 The Federal law enacts the Swiss National Library.
- 1915 The Swiss National Library and the Swiss publishers came to an agreement: the Swiss publishers offer the Swiss National Library a copy of each one of their publications.
- 1928 The Swiss Union Catalogue is created.
- 1931 Move to the Library's present premises at No 15 Hallwylstrasse.
- 1989 The National Library becomes part of the Federal Office of Culture Affairs.
- 1991 At the instigation of Friedrich DürrenmattFriedrich DürrenmattFriedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
, the Swiss Literary ArchivesSwiss Literary ArchivesThe Swiss Literary Archives in Bern collects literary remains in all four national languages of Switzerland...
are inaugurated. - 1992 The Parliament votes the new law on the Swiss National Library.
- 1993 VTLS library management software is introduced
- 1994 Access to Helveticat, the automated catalogue, goes public.
- 1995 Swiss ISSN Centre is opened. The same year the Swiss National Library takes part in the foundation of MEMORIAV, the association for the preservation of the audiovisual heritage of Switzerland.
- 2000 Inauguration of the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel.
- 2001 The Swiss National Library returns to its premises which had been considerably renovated and enlarged.
- 2003 SwissInfoDesk, am commented list of relevant links about Swiss topics, goes online.
- 2005 The Swiss National Library launches the project Virtual information about Switzerland, a partnership between libraires. The participating libraries transfer the readers demands to the library which is specialised in the field.
- 2006 The Swiss National Library is run according to the principles of New Public ManagementNew Public ManagementNew public management is a management philosophy used by governments since the 1980s to modernise the public sector. New public management is a broad and very complex term used to describe the wave of public sector reforms throughout the world since the 1980s...
.