Transition to SLSP network and its swisscovery catalog on December 7

New swisscovery platform and catalogue

At the end of the year, the UNIGE library, along with other libraries in the region, will leave the Library Network of Western Switzerland (RERO) in order to join the swisscovery search and service portal. The new portal will be run by the Swiss Library Service Platform (SLSP), which was set up by 15 Swiss universities and libraries, including the UNIGE library. So far, 475 other research libraries from across Switzerland have joined the platform.

On 7 December 2020, the swisscovery search and service portal will replace current library networks and platforms, including RERO and its search interface RERO Explore. swisscovery will give users of the UNIGE library access to more than 30 million works, series, reviews and other types of documents, as well as more than three billion online articles and open-access documents from institutional catalogues such as UNIGE's Archive ouverte.

Nationwide network and services

With the transition to swisscovery, the services offered by research libraries within the network will be harmonized. That will make it easier to find and borrow printed and online documents and give you more independence when managing the documents you borrow.

Users will also be able to promptly get documents from any of the libraries in the swisscovery network. Further details about the new services will be provided at a later date.

Limited services and opening hours from 24 October to 6 December

Starting on 24 October, we will have to stop or limit certain library services temporarily so that we can get ready to migrate our collection data to the new swisscovery platform.

Services that will be limited during the migration phase

• Inter-library loans (i.e., outside UNIGE library collections): starting on 24 October, you will not be able to request books, partial copies, or paper or electronic articles from other libraries.
• Purchase requests: we will not accept any new purchase requests this year (requests for the fall semester were processed in advance.)
• New subscriptions to databases and electronic journals: we will not accept any new subscription requests this year.
• Document reservation: this service will be available up to 9 November.

Services that will continue during the migration phase

• RERO Explore catalogue and digital resources (online journals, databases, etc.): these will be available as normal.
• Loans and returns: you will be able to borrow and return printed documents from the UNIGE library collections as normal.
• Digitization (UNIGE library collections): you will be able to request electronic copies of articles and partial electronic copies of other documents, subject to certain conditions.
• In-shop orders: in-shop orders will be possible up to 2 December 2020.

If you have any questions or urgent requests concerning a particular service, please contact the person indicated on the webpage for that service.

Shorter opening times

Starting on 26 October, the library opening times will be shortened to ensure our teams can get the training they need for the new swisscovery platform and handle any urgent requests.

The new opening times will be as follows:

• Monday to Friday: 9am to 10pm
• Saturday and Sunday: 9am to 6pm

You can view the opening times and real-time reading room availability on the website or the UNIGE mobile app.

New membership terms for swisscovery

To use the swisscovery platform, you will have to sign up on SLSP with a SWITCH edu-ID.

You will be able to sign up before the migration is completed. More detailed information about this procedure will be provided soon.

The RERO network

The RERO network will continue to exist and will now focus on school and public libraries. This means that, starting on 7 December, RERO and SLSP will use two separate library management systems, and will have two different catalogues and their own user accounts. More informations are available on RERO memo to users (only in French or in German).