Using our services

Borrowing and consultation

To borrow a document, you need to be in possession of a valid card. This card is personal and must be presented for each loan. It allows you to borrow from all UNIGE Library sites, as well as from other libraries belonging to the SLSP network (without additional registration) and BibliOpass. If you do not have a card yet, please register now!

Loan

  • Standard length of loan is 28 days.
  • It is possible to borrow up to 100 items from the UNIGE Library on your account (except for those living abroad outside the border zone, max. 5 items).
  • In most cases, documents are automatically renewed 5 times their original loan period, as long as they are not requested by another person or your account is not blocked. There is therefore no need to manually renew borrowed documents.
  • The due date for the loan of documents can be consulted at any time via your swisscovery account ("Login" menu).

Return

  • Documents of the UNIGE Library can be returned to any site of the UNIGE Library, regardless of their original location.
  • Documents obtained through interlibrary loan (including within the SLSP network) must be returned to their pickup location.
  • Documents physically borrowed from other institutions (including within the SLSP network) must be returned where they were borrowed.

Requests and reservations

  • All requests are made online, via the swisscovery catalog (button "Request" → "My institution"/"Université de Genève").
  • A notification is sent by email when the document is ready to be picked up. The timeframe to collect it is 7 days.
  • Following documents may be requested:
    • Documents borrowed by another person; pickup only at the original location of the document
    • Documents in close stacks (magasin) or compactus (= not accessible to the public); pickup only at the original location of the document
    • Documents from the Deposit of the University Library (DBU); pickup at any site of the UNIGE Library
    • Documents on standard loan (28 days) from Uni Bastions & Arve - Espace Battelle; pickup only at Uni Bastions - Espace Jura.
  • All other documents, which are on open stacks, must be searched on the shelves and borrowed from the appropriate loan desks.
  • Documents not available in Geneva libraries can be requested via the document supply service (ILL).

On-site consultation

  • On-site consultation of documents is open to all A large part of the collections is in free access.
  • For certain collections, only on-site consultation and by appointment is allowed:

Overdue and fees

  • Documents not returned on time generate overdue fees that are common for the entire SLSP network:
    • 1 day after loan term: free reminder
    • 6 days after the free reminder: 1st paying reminder: 5 CHF per document
    • 6 days after the 1st paying reminder: 2nd paying reminder: an additional CHF 5 per document
    • 6 days after the 2nd paying reminder: 3rd paying reminder: an additional CHF 10 per document
  • Please note: For documents with a loan term shorter than 28 days, the deadline for reminders issuing is shortened accordingly.
  • The account is blocked after the 3rd reminder, including automatic renewals.
  • For lost or non-returned documents, a replacement fee applies.
  • Fees owed are sent by email and payable by invoice only.
  • In the case of loss, you can request a new invoice using this form (in French).
  • FAQs on billing by SLSP for fee-based swisscovery services