Books are for Use
Every reader his or her book
Every book its reader
Save the time of the reader
The library is a growing organism
(Shiyali Ramarnrita Ranganathan, 1957)
Founded in 1996, the University Library Lugano is the body responsible for organizing documents (books, periodicals, electronic media etc..) within the Lugano faculties of the Università della Svizzera italiana. The Library responds to aims of study, research and Information.
Since March 2002, after moving to a new building, the Library also houses the collection of the Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano, thus assuming the status of university campus library.
The establishment of a specialized collection, however, is intended to support not only academic activities, but also the professional and cultural life of the Canton Ticino.
The library therefore offers its services to all persons interested in the subjects studied at the University.
The University Library Lugano is part of the Sistema bibliotecario ticinese (SBT).
As an active member of the Swiss libraries network, the Library provides access to the library network catalogs and documentation centers.The Interlibrary loan service enables patrons to obtain materials available in other libraries only. The Library is part of the BibliOpass network.
Some numerical data (survey 2021):
| library area | 2900 mq |
| places for users | 208 |
| opening hours per week | 68 |
| library staff | 12 (9.9 FTE) |
| documents on open shelves | approx. 73200 |
| documents in closed stack | approx. 25200 |
| electronic journals | more than 57000 |
| library loans | approx. 6100 |
| website visits | more than 303400 |