Loans and reservation
In order to borrow a document from the EPFL Library, it is enough for you to be registered there or be registered in a library of the NEBIS network.
Our BEAST catalogue (Books, Ebooks and Articles Search Tool), will enable you to find the documents that you require. It gives you access to the totality of our electronic and physical collections as well as to the collections of the other libraries of the NEBIS network.
Borrow at the Library
If the document that you are interested in is available, do not reserve it but go and look for it directly on the shelves and borrow it at the desk or at the self-service loan stations.
Almost all of our collection is accessible at all times, 7 days out of 7, from 7:00 to midnight.
Reserve a document that is already borrowed
If a document is borrowed, you can reserve it free of charge by using the BEAST function “Reserve/request”. To that end, log on and click on “In a library” in order to bring up all the options for ordering.
As soon as it becomes available, you will receive an email alert. You can then come and take it out at the Library reception desk between 8:00 and 20:00, from Monday to Friday. The document is put aside for 10 days, after this time if there is no contact from you, we take it off the reservation list.
It is possible to make up to 30 reservations at the same time.
Renew the due date of a borrowed document
Renewals are possible provided the documents in question are not reserved by another user:
- online, from your reader account
- by telephone or by email,
- or on-site, at the Library desks
After 5 renewals, the document must be presented to the library desk.
A renewal cannot delete a fine: thank you for adhering to the loan periods (see our borrowing terms and conditions)
Borrow a document in another library of the NEBIS network
If the document that is of interest to you is in a library other than the EPFL one, you can order it directly via BEAST.
In order to do that, when you have found the document, log on and click on “In a library” in order to bring up all the options for ordering. Then click on “Reserve/request”.
Do not forget to select a pick-up location, for example: “EPF-BIB (Lausanne)” for the EPFL Library or mail delivery (invoiced service) for dispatch directly to your home or office.
The delivery time is from 3 to 5 working days. Most of the time it is quicker to order another copy available in another library than to wait until the borrowed document is returned.
When the document arrives you will get an email alert. You can then come and pick it up at the Library desk between 8:00 and 20:00, Monday to Friday.
Return a document
You can return your documents any time by dropping them into the “returns boxes” or at the library desks. Postal dispatch to the Library, at your expense, is possible. In this case the package must arrive before the loan period is up.
Other services
- Order a document which is neither at EPFL nor in NEBIS using our document delivery (inter-library loan, ILL) service.
- Request a copy or scan of an article with the help of BEAST.
- Consult our guides and tutorials
Borrow if one is registered in another library of the NEBIS network (apart from EPFL)
Each user registered in a library of the NEBIS network can order a document of the EPFL Library, whether it is borrowed or not, by virtue of the BEAST search tool or the NEBIS search interface.
The document is then sent to the library to which you are affiliaited. The delivery time is from 3 to 5 working days. It is also possible to have the book sent by parcel post (NEBIS service, invoiced).
Borrowing on-site is clearly possible, the EPFL Library being open to the public (see our opening hours and access).