Advice and more!
We are available online and in digital form, that goes without saying. But we also love face-to-face conversations – in person at one of our locations. We are there when you need us, across various communication channels and in different formats:
The traditional channels
We firmly believe that many questions are best discussed face to face. During the opening hours, our Information team is on hand at the InfoCenter as well as at our Special Libraries on the Zentrum and Hönggerberg campuses to provide personal advice on all questions relating to the ETH Library, its holdings, research tools and services.
You can also contact us by telephone or email:
- Phone: +41 44 632 21 35
- Email:
The straightforward online channel
To use our chat service, simply click on the icon located on the bottom right of any subpage.
The one-to-one service
Some things require a little more time, which is why we provide a Book a Librarian service. During a 30- to 60-minute session, we provide advice tailored to your individual questions and needs.
The knowledge sharers
Our courses and workshops provide a concentrated shot of knowledge in compact form – always with the aim of getting you in the best possible shape for your studies, research or writing project.
The most frequently asked questions
Many questions come up on a recurring basis: How do loans and fees work? How can I access electronic documents? Our FAQ provide the answers to these questions and more in one place.
To help you work with the ETH Library @ swisscovery search platform, we have also collated the most important tips for registering, searching for articles and using free services.
The short films
It’s worth taking a look at our external pageYouTube channel! This contains tutorials and information videos that provide a quick overview of many of our services.
Questions about specific topics?
Our specialist offices will be happy to help:
Information
- Advice and searching
- Information on catalogues and holdings
- Access to e-books, e-journals and databases
Customer service and circulation desk
- Registering
- User account, user ID
- Lockers
- Collect and return documents
- Renew borrowed media
- Conditions of Use, Fees
Electronic document delivery
Interlibrary loan
Architecture and Civil Engineering Library
- Information: advice, counselling, search help
- Customer Service: new registrations, renewing your library user, card, fees, reminders
- Subjects: Architecture, urban and spatial planning, construction and geomatics, environment and transport
- Self-Access Centre of the Language Center of UZH and ETH Zurich, Borrowing Tools
Earth Sciences Library
- Information: advice, counselling, search help
- Customer Service: new registrations, renewing your library user, card, fees, reminders
- Subject: Geosciences
GESS Library
- Information: advice, counselling, search help
- Customer Service: new registrations, renewing your library user, card, fees, reminders
- Subjects: Humanities and social sciences, Business, law and politics
Green Library
- Information: advice, counselling, search help
- Customer Service: new registrations, renewing your library user, card, fees, reminders
- Subject: Agricultural and food sciences, environmental sciences
Hönggerberg Depot Library (HDB)
- Closed stacks
- Information: advice, counselling, search help
- Customer Service: new registrations, renewing your library user, card, fees, reminders
Rare Books
- Collection of scientific literature dating from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 20th century
Image Archive
- Preserving, indexing and making available the photographic collections and historical film and audio material
ETH Material Hub
- Materials Platform of ETH Zurich for research and teaching
- Samples from teaching and research, from historical construction materials to innovative developments
Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich
- Artwork on paper from the 15th century to the present, prints and drawings by Swiss artists of the 19th and 20th centuries
- National and international, historic as well as contemporary artwork on paper
ETH Zurich University Archives
- Central unit for permanent preservation, and description of records of archival value from all organisational units of ETH Zurich and of the ETH Board
- The official records are complemented by actively taking over material from private ownership
Maps and Geoinformation
- Topographical and subject-based maps from the 20th and 21st centuries with scientific-technical content
- Atlases and books, relief maps and globes, CD-ROMs
- Swisstopo geodata and orthophotographs
ETH Zurich's Art Inventory
- Administration, cataloguing and communication of artworks owned by ETH Zurich
Max Frisch Archive
- Personal papers belonging to the writer and architect Max Frisch
- Multimedia resources
- Reference library with primary and secondary literature
Collection of scientific instruments and teaching aids
- Historical instruments and teaching aids from institutes and departments of ETH Zurich since its foundation
Thomas Mann Archives
- Personal papers and private library of Thomas Mann
- Works in German and translations, research library with secondary literature
Research Data Management and Digital Curation
- Consulting on topics and services around the data life cycle
- Support in the management, publication and archiving of research data
- Contact point for technical and conceptual questions regarding digital long-term preservation
E-Publishing Office
- Support and consulting concerning the publication of research data
Open Access
- Information about open-access-publishing
Research Collection
- Publication platform of ETH Zurich
ETH E-Pics
- Image information system of ETH Zurich
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID)
- Consulting in how to connect your ORCID ID to your ETH profile and your publications in the Research Collection
ETH Zurich DOI Desk
- Official DOI registration office for Switzerland's university and research sector.
Allocation of ISBN
- The ETH Library issues ISBNs for individual publications for members of ETH Zurich