Zentralbibliothek Zürich

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The Zurich Central Library is a public scientific general library. It serves as a city, Cantonal and University Library of communicating information to the general public and the needs of teaching and research. In addition, it ensures the fullest possible documentation and archiving of published and unpublished information carrier Zurich ( Turicensia ), ie such information carriers that have appeared in the Canton of Zurich, were written by people of Zurich, Zurich or its inhabitants have on the subject. The Central Library is located on the Zähringerplatz 6 in the old town in the center of the city.

• 2.1 Special Collections 2.1.1 Library Oskar R. Impact
• 2.1.2 North America Library NAB
• 2.1.3 Study Library on the history of the labor movement
• 2.1.4 Fennica
• 2.1.5 Russian Library

• 3.1 Graphical collection and photo archive
• 3.2 Manuscripts Department
• 3.3 Department maps and panoramas
• 3.4 Department of Music

History

The Central Library Zurich was founded in 1914. The name " Central Library " program is because it is in corpore the result of targeted since the 1890s merger of Canton library and city library.

Abbey Library and State Library

The beginnings of the Zurich library history - and thus also of the Central Library - date back to the first time in 1259 occupied by statutes of the Zurich library Canons of St. Felix and Regula until the early Middle Ages. However, the bulk of this stock has been lost with the books storm of 14 September 1525. The abbey library remained as such still exist, but the number of existing works had shrunk to a mere 470 volumes. From 1532 the Alsatian humanist Konrad Pellikan sat down for a pin library and built it with the existing in and around Zurich books from church property and from the pen bought for 200 pounds Huldrych Zwingli's private library consistently. Its up to 1551 guided catalog has about 770 volumes ( manuscripts and printed ) to approximately 1100 titles. Numerous purchases and donations extended in the next three centuries the stock sustainably.

1831 Canons was dissolved. The now around 3,500 volumes with 14,000 titles comprehensive library formed the basis of the 1835 newly founded Canton library. There were as per the decision of the government of the stocks of 1833 established University (about 340 volumes), the 1827 furnished school library with predominantly theological and philosophical writings ( about 1700 volumes), the industrial school (a few items) and the Veterinary School ( about 110 volumes ). 1863 took over the Cantonal Library and the extensive library of the Benedictine monastery founded in 778 Rheinau, which was dissolved a year earlier, with 12,000 volumes ( including 200 and 230 modern parchment - paper manuscripts and pamphlets from theology, philosophy and history ).

Reason for the founding of a " library of the Cantonal - schools " whose premises initially finally in 1873 were located in the back office building of the former Augustinian monastery, from 1855 in the old mint building and preacher choir, were the long and ultimately irresolvable disputes between members of the fledgling University and founded in 1634 the city library. The latter insisted to the professors coming from abroad on their traditional approval provisions authorizing the access to the library almost exclusively members of the Zurich city citizenship. For the University, this was an unacceptable situation; the establishment of the State Library, which was entrusted with the tasks of a scientific library, was the result.

City ​​Library

The history of the town library was initially run parallel to that of the Canons and the Canton Library: On February 6, 1629 decided four young Zurich merchants founding a city library society that made ​​it his goal to establish a universally accessible, scientific library for the city of Zurich - to some extent as a counterpart to that of the Canons, the primary was open only to the members of the chapter. At the beginning of 1634 finally opened the first still housed in private rooms " Bibliotheca nova Tigurinorum publico - privata " its doors in the late Gothic Church of water, since the Reformation, a repurposed as a warehouse building. The library grew, not least because of the rain donation activities of the Zurich citizens rapidly. Within a few years, the library has developed with her books and coins, their art and natural history collection to the treasure house and temple scholars Zurich. From the beginning, the city library stressed the role of a universal, comprehensive all fields of knowledge collection for themselves. But since the founding of the Natural History Society by the Canons John Gessner ( 1746 ), the Medical- surgical Library Company by the canons of Johannes Heinrich Rahn (1780 ), the Law Library Society (1823 ) and the Antiquarian Society (1832 ), but ultimately with the establishment the Canton library, it moved its acquisition focus gradually on the humanities and Turicensia. As the first Swiss library ever was the city library in 1744 a printed catalog of their holdings out; the final catalog of 1900/ 01 was already 12 - bändig. Between 1899 and 1907 a subject catalog was created by William Wyss for the first time.

Central Library

Towards the end of the 19th century, the call for a central library was getting louder. The timing seemed right, since both city and cantonal library suffered from a notorious lack of space. Finally drove Hermann Escher (1857-1938), connected since 1887 head of the city library, and since 1896 through its seat in the Supervisory Commission with the State Library, the plan for a central library vigorously. First important result of these efforts was the since 1901 the public available Alphabetical central catalog that showed the holdings of all libraries in the city of Zurich. In 1914, the voters of the City and Canton of Zurich spoke in a clear majority for the merger of city and cantonal library. With the help of generous private funds opened in 1917, the Central Library as a public foundation - with the city and canton equally as carriers - under the direction of Hermann Escher their doors. About eighty years later, after years of acute shortage of space and the swap in numerous outdoor magazines, the Central Library moved into the premises of the 1990 to 1994 built on the site of the old Magazinbauten on Zähringerplatz extension. In 1995 rebuilt and renovated old building located since the special collections, with the exception of the music department, which is housed in the choir preacher.

Stock

The stock of the Central Library included the end of 2011 about 6.3 million units, including

• 4.3 million books and journal volumes
• 980,000 graphic prints and photographs
• 208'500 manuscripts
• 258,000 geographical maps
• 565,000 microforms ( 1.5 million items)
• 48,000 audiovisual media
• 201,000 printed music
• 8,700 current journals
• 70'800 electronic journal titles
• 145 current newspapers Turicensia

The Central Library is a member of the Information Network of German Switzerland (IDS ), which ensures access to all libraries with a single library card. The holdings of the Central Library from 1990 as well as the ETH-Bibliothek Zurich and more than 80 other Swiss libraries via the shared online catalog NEBIS searchable. NEBIS recorded about three million titles. The older stocks from the years 1465 to 1989 are in the alphabetical Central Catalog ( ACC ) and in the keyword catalog ( SWK ) searchable. Both are located in the catalog room of the Central Library, but are also digitized on the Internet. Was started in 2009 as part of a Rekatalogisierungsprojektes to integrate the old stock in the online catalog.

Access to electronic journals via the Electronic Journals Library ( EZB). The Central Library is part of the network of the University of Zurich, she made ​​possible by their students and staff access to various full-text databases and bibliographic services.

Special Collections

In addition to the valuable old buildings with the obligations deriving from the current collection profile general holdings, the central library is characterized by a wide variety of special collections. In research portal of the Central Library can be searched specifically from 1992 with a filter, the individual stocks.

Library Oskar R. Impact

In 1990, the Central Library of the esoteric library of psychotherapists and graphologist Oskar Rudolf percussion ( 1907-1990 ), which even today is still in its former residential house, bequeathed to the present. Since the early 1930s, shock collected books and documents from the secret of scientific disciplines and built one of the world's most important libraries in the field of esotericism.

North America Library NAB

Since 1972 located in the Central Library a special stock of literature in North America. Founded by the English Department of the University of Zurich, he is officially administered since 1994 as a depot of the Central Library. The collection consists of approximately 97,000 individual plants and 161 current periodicals (April 2011). Collected a representative sample of U.S. and Canadian titles, both primary and secondary literature. Title Date to 1991 can not be found in the research portal, as they are currently being re-cataloged. These are either listed in the card catalog of the NAB site or in digitized Alphabetical central catalog of the Central Library.

Study Library on the history of the labor movement

The study library on the history of the labor movement (SGA ) consists of approximately 50,000 monographs and an extensive Small font collection. It covers the topics of early socialism, labor movement, anti-fascist resistance, Exile Literature and the New Social Movements. The collection built up by the bookseller Theo Pinkus arrived in 2001 as a gift in the Zurich Central Library.

Fennica

The Swiss Association of Friends of Finland ( SVFF ) founded in 1955, the Bibliotheca Fennica. The books will be purchased and installed by the association, but then go into the possession of the ZB. The approximately 7000 titles (including periodicals, yearbooks and about 120 DVDs ) spread on the fields Finnish Fiction (children 's books ), language and literature, history, folklore, geography, art, music and architecture. Literature is collected in the national languages ​​Finnish and Swedish, but also in translation.

Russian library

Emerging from the club "Russian Library Zurich " ( RBC) and since 2002 owned by the example, the RBC includes a wide selection of original and translated fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries ( exile and Soviet literature). The collection consists of approximately 6,000 monographs and journals.

Special Collections

The Central Library is home to five Special Collections: Graphic Arts Collection, Manuscript Division, Map Collection, Music Division and the Rare Books Collection. Many stocks of these collections date back to the predecessor of the Central Library and libraries in the electronic catalog, developed in special catalogs (eg, manuscript catalog of the manuscripts and music department ) as well as estate accounts or various printed catalogs.

Graphic collection and photo archive

The Graphic Collection was established by the bequest of the Zurich paper manufacturer Leonhard Ziegler (1749-1800) in 1854. This " Ikonothek " - consisting of more than 60,000 individual sheets - formed the basis of the collection that has been extended by numerous other donations and bequests from Zurich collectors. The collection is now home to 220,000 graphic works from the 15th to the 20th centuries, 162,000 picture postcards, 11,000 photochrome to numerous illustrated broadsheets, various drawings, history sheets, Militaria, costumes, cartoons, his prints complete works of Solomon Gessner, Daniel Chodowiecke and Franz Hegi and the artistic legacy of Otto Baumberger, Oskar Dalvit, Max Hunziker, Gottfried Keller, Varya Lavater, Gregor Rabinovitch and Johann Rudolf Rahn. In addition, she manages the art collection of the Central Library, which consists primarily of portraits of the city of Zurich personalities of the 16th to the 19th century.

Manuscript Division

As one of the first acts of the director Paul Scherrer the manuscript department was established in 1964. It is home to some 650 medieval manuscripts, as well as Hebrew and Oriental manuscripts. Important components of the Department are also numerous manuscripts history of the Reformation, the Wickiana, a collection of strange events of Johann Jakob Wick (1522-1588), the thesaurus Hottingerianus with original documents and copies of 16th and 17th century, Johann Heinrich Hottinger ( 1620-1667) amassed, and the Simleriana with copies of documents from the 16th and 17th century, hand created by Johann Jacob Simler ( 1716-1788 ). In addition, the manuscript department serves more than 500 discounts of writers and artists ( including Johann Jakob Bodmer, Armin Bollinger, Elias Canetti, Gottfried Keller, Oskar Kokoschka, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi ) and extensive letters and autograph collections, family archives, publishing archives, corporate - and guild archives.

Department maps and panoramas

The Map Collection has a population of 245,000 map sheets. This includes approximately 1000 manuscript maps, topographic maps of all European and many non-European countries, city maps and various military and nautical charts. The collection also includes some 4,000 atlases. The majority of the collection dates back to the city library, the collected cards since its inception, and particularly in the 19th century was able to significantly expand their holdings by generous donations from private collectors, founded in 1850, as well as cards club in Zurich. Only with the acquisition card from the Association advised the City Library a collection of maps, which in 1917 finally went to the Central Library.

Department of Music

In 1971, the special collections were extended at the initiative of Director Paul Scherrer and his successor Hans Baer to the music department. First, still housed in the premises of the main building, it is now in the choir of the church preacher, the former seat of the cantonal library. In addition to printed music and sound recordings preserves, among other things one of the largest Wagneriana collections in the world, more than 190 estates of composers, musicians and musicologists as well as various publishing and corporate archives. Furthermore, took over the music department in 1978, the old music library of the Zurich Opera with opera and operetta scores from the 19th and early 20th centuries ( including several used in premieres scores and orchestral materials ) and in 1999 the old parts of its conservatory and concert hall, with, among other first and early editions of the works of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Furthermore there is in the music department as Dauerdepositum the library of the General Music Society Zurich, which structure includes a large number of sacred and secular vocal and instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries (mostly of Italian, Dutch and German publishers ) as well as an extensive collection of performance materials from the 19th century include.

The Rare Books Collection manages the rare and valuable books and pamphlets of the Central Library Zurich. This includes about 1,600 incunabula and different prints of the 16th century - especially numerous publications Zurich - or even a collection of French Revolution pamphlets of Paul Usteri ( 1768-1831 ). The majority of these rare books dates back to the historic book holdings of municipal and cantonal library and the risen each in their collections. In addition, the collection took old prints numerous important private libraries Zurich personalities and scholars in their holdings, like that of Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), Rudolph Gwalther (1519-1586) and Konrad Gessner ( 1516-1565 ). On the digitized part of the holdings can be accessed via the platform e-rara.ch.

Society of Friends of the Central Library Zurich ( GFZB )

The Society of Friends of the Central Library Zurich ( GFZB ) was founded in 1917. Its members enjoy several benefits, including:

• Invitations to events of ZB.
• Discounts on publications of the GFZB.
• Introduction to research in the various systems of the ZB.
• New members receive a gift