Find and access documents

This service is free of charge if the items are collected at the EPFL Library desk.

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the document you want to reserve
• in “Pick up on site”, click on “Loan”
• select “EPFL Bibliotheque” as Pickup Location
• click on “Send request”

You can now track the status of your request from your reader account.

You will receive an email as soon as you can pick-up the document at the Library desk (Monday to Friday from 8am to 11.45pm and from 9am on weekends). The document is reserved for 10 days. After this period, and without any news from you, the reservation is expired.

This service is free for EPFL members if collection is made at the EPFL Library (or at the libraries of the 4 associated campuses). The service is also free for the UNIL Sciences criminelles community. This service is charged 8 CHF to non-EPFL users, even when collection is made at the EPFL Library.

Collection from another swisscovery library is charged at CHF 8.

Documents sent to a private or business address are charged at CHF 12.

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the document you want to request
• section “Further request options”: in the section “Request by courier or postal delivery”, click on “Select Pickup location”
• select “EPFL” as Pickup Institution
• select “EPFL Bibliotheque” as Pickup Location
• click on “Request”
• the delivery time and fee amount are displayed, validate your request by clicking on “Send request”

You can now track the status of your request from your reader account.

You will receive an email as soon as you can pick-up the document at the Library desk (Monday to Friday from 8am to 11.45pm and from 9am on weekends). The document is reserved for 10 days. After this period, and without any news from you, the reservation is cancelled.

This service is free of charge for EPFL members if the items are collected at the EPFL Library desk.

This service is subject to a fee for non-EPFL users. Fees vary; for any questions, please contact [email protected].

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the button “Request a document or a digitization” on the top of the page
• fill the form
• send your request

Delivery times (as an indication)

• Documents from Swiss libraries: 3 to 5 days
• Documents from European libraries (outside Switzerland): 1 to 2 weeks

Loan and consultation conditions

You will be notified of the loan duration when you borrow the document. Some documents are only available for on-site consultation at EPFL Library, in accordance with the request of the owner library. To extend the interlibrary loan duration, please contact [email protected] before the document expires.

This service is free for EPFL members and not provided to external users.

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the journal containing the article you need
• in “Pick up on site”, click on “Digitization”
• fill the scan information (title, author, pages)
• click on “Send request”

This service is available free of charge to EPFL members and subject to a fee for non-EPFL users (CHF 5).

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the button “Request a document or a digitization” on the webpage top
• fill in the form
• click on “Send request”

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the document you want to request
• section “Further request options”: delivery times and costs are displayed in the “Digitization” section
• click on “Request”

You can now track the status of your request from your reader account.

This service is free of charge for EPFL members. This service is subject to a fee for non-EPFL users. Fees vary; for any questions, please contact [email protected].

• log-in from the BEAST catalog
• click on the button “Request a document or a digitization” on the webpage top
• fill in the form
• click on “Send request”

28-day loan period for all the documents, except:

• 14 days: Teaching Collection
• 7 days: journals, DVDs, video games and game consoles
• 1 day: items and equipments (non-renewable). Items are not listed in the BEAST catalog and cannot be reserved.

5 automatic extensions, if the document is not reserved by another user (exceptions may occur).

After 5 extensions, the document must be presented at EPFL Library desk. If the document belongs to the EPFL library and is not reserved by another person, a new loan can be made.

The loan period and extensions are indicated in your reader account, accessible from the BEAST catalog.

You can return your document anytime at the desk or in the white boxes located in the Library. You can mail them to the Library at your expense. In this case, the document must arrive before the loan duration expires.

The first free reminder, as well as all the others, are exclusively sent by e-mail from the address [email protected] as following:

• free reminder
  1 open day after loan term: free
  
  
• 1st paying reminder
  1 week after the reception of the free reminder : 5 CHF per document
  
  
• 2nd paying reminder
  1 week after the reception of the 1st paying reminder : 5 CHF additional per document
  
  
• 3nd paying reminder
  1 week after the reception of the 2nd paying reminder : 10 CHF additional per document

For documents which loan period is 7 open days, the period between each reminder is 3 days instead of one week.

For items and equipments which loan period is 1 open day, the period between each reminder is 1 day instead of one week.

Fees can be paid at the Library desk. Payment can be made in cash, with a Camipro card, credit/debit card or via Twint, from Monday to Friday, 8am to 11.45pm and from 9am on weekends. Fees are accessible in your reader account under the “Fees” tab.

After 2 months, all unpaid fees are invoiced. Invoices are sent by email and are accessible in your reader account under the “Invoices” tab. From that point on, payment can only be made using the invoice.

An unpaid invoice is followed by a reminder after 30 days. If it remains unpaid, a second invoice reminder is sent after a further 30 days. These reminders are sent by email and do not incur any additional fees. If the invoice is still unpaid 30 days after the second reminder has been sent, the reader account is blocked until the invoice is paid.

For any questions, please contact the Library overdue and fines service: [email protected] or +41 21 693 41 00.

Any loss or deterioration of a borrowed book should be reported as soon as possible to the Library overdue and fines service: [email protected] or +41 21 693 41 00. We also ask users not to buy lost or damaged documents themselves. We reserve the right to refuse any document purchased by users. Users will be charged for lost or damaged documents by e-mail up to the purchase price.