Our Seminar library remains closed until 1 April. Requested items can be picked up on top of the book returning box on the half landing of the stairs to the first floor in the rear building of the Department of English, Mon-Fri 9-17 h.

New national search portal for academic libraries

We are facing a new library system from December 7. Please find more information about the new user registration and returning borrowed items here: https://ub.unibas.ch/en/swisscovery/

As the new system does not yet allow students to self-check out books in the English library, access to books is via the reservation system (see above).

Distribution of the Library Stock

Use the guide Distribution to the Library Stock (PDF) to check a book’s exact location. This guide is also included in the folder Guide to the Library (PDF) which can be found in most library rooms.

Self-Service Checkout (‘Selbstausleihe’)

Books need to be checked out with your library or student card using the computers and bar code readers on the veranda (1st and 2nd floor of the English Seminar) or in our Nadelberg 4 library room. Check out library books using the self-service checkout (PDF) based on the University of Basel’s main library system.

Returning Books

Items may be placed in the beige book box on the half landing of the stairs to the first floor in the rear building of the Department of English.

Loans

The loan regulations conform with the loan regulations of the Universitätsbibliothek Basel. The standard loan period for books is 28 days. This period is automatically extended twice if the book is not recalled by another user. The item can be extended manually three more times online in the user account, provided that there is no reservation. When receiving a reminder the user is asked to return the item in the following five days, otherwise borrowers will be charged an overdue fee.

Interlibrary Loans

Swiss libraries may request an interlibrary loan via the English seminar library providing that the item is exclusively available at our library. In this case, the individual user is asked to contact their home library. Books are sent via postal service and photocopies of journal articles may also be sent electronically.

Electronic Access

The UB's electronic resources can be accessed on-campus via eduroam (without VPN). Furthermore, electronic resources can be accessed from home via a VPN connection provided by the University of Basel.

Finding Literature: Tips and Tricks

• Literature search strategies in Anglophone  Literary and Cultural Studies: See Manual for Writers of Papers in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies 

• Literature search strategies in English Linguistics : See Manual for Papers in English Linguistics (PDF) [and Research skills module in ADAM (link to be provided)

• Handout for UB Workshop with Johanna Schüpbach

The Cooper library forms part of a bequest to the Department of English by Clare Benedict (1870–1961), a US-American patron and distant relative of James Fenimore Cooper, who lived in Switzerland from 1939 until her death.

The library comprises first and secondary literature, dictionaries, journals, festschrifts, almanacs, musical scores, libretti, theatre programmes, maps, postcards etc. Its contents does not form part of the Department’s library and cannot be found in the online catalogue. However, the original card index has now been made available as a searchable PDF document.

The Cooper library is not open to the public and its works cannot be borrowed but may be consulted in situ by prior arrangement with the secretary’s office.