Münstergasse Library
Opening hours
Service Hours
Borrowing and returning
Check out at the circulation desk: Monday to Friday 8.00 to 19.00, Saturday 8.00 to 17.00
Returning box Herrengasse 38: Monday to Friday 8.00 to19.00, Saturday 8.00 to 17.00
Special Reading Room for historical collections
Tuesday ro Friday 10.00 to 17.00
Information counter
Closed
News
Service
Infrastructure
- 300 individual work spaces
- 6 collaborative work spaces with Smartboards and screens with HDMI connectors (reservation required, web page in German)
- individual carrels
- 94 monthly lockers and 36 day lockers
- special reading room for historical collections
- event hall (web page in German) for conferences, training courses, etc.
- wireless network
- Research stations
- Uniprint devices for printing, scanning and photocopying (1st floor and basement floor)
- book scanner (basement floor)
- validation station for UniCards (basement floor)
-
Copy card recharge station (first basement floor)
Services
- general information
- subject specific information
- information on historical collections
- interlibrary loan and courier services
- interlibrary loan and document delivery
- EOD – eBooks on Demand (ordering service for TIFFs or full texts)
- rental of tablets and notebooks
- lending or sale of USB sticks (CHF 5 for 8 GB)
-
Lending of headphones and charging cables
Collection
- Bibliothek Münstergasse is the oldest library of the UB Bern and houses the historical book collections and various special collections. Books and documents printed before 1900 and the Rara section are managed by the Historical Collections Center ZHB.
- As part of its mandate as a cantonal library, the Münstergasse Library acquires literature from and about the Canton of Berne (Bernensia). The most interesting titles of this collection are available as a reference library in the Information and Bernensia section of Münstergasse Library.
- The majority of the holdings are located in the University Library Storage Facility and can be ordered through our online catalog swissbib Basel Bern.
- Reading room in the basement: basic selection of printed reference works from all subject areas (call numbers starting with LS).
- Schultheissensaal: scientific journals, general reference works, books on academic writing and study guides.
- Information and Bernensia section: books on Bernese culture and literature, local newspapers and magazines.
- Lounge: regional, national and international daily and weekly newspapers and popular magazines.
- Access to over 6,000 international newspapers and magazines from over 100 countries in around 60 languages, including up-to-365 Days archive.
- Music streaming database in CD sound quality: "Naxos Music Library" with over 120,000 classical CDs.
- Access to all electronic resources of the University Library (see also databases for customers from the Canton of Berne).
cUBe · Online-Informationen erkunden

Explore our extensive digital resources by means of the physical web on our premises. Find out what the physical web is and how you can use it with your mobile device at
Events and courses
For information on our cultural program and our courses, please consult the corresponding website in German.
Contacts
Library director a.i.

- Name / Titel
- Dr. Samuel Weibel
- Funktion
- Head Münstergasse Library a.i., Head Media Processing Department, co-coordinator collection management, subject librarian music
- samuel.weibel@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 30
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Reader services

- Name / Titel
- Kathrin Johner
- Funktion
- Head of reader services
- kathrin.johner@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 24
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Circulation

- Name / Titel
- Andrea Zumofen
- Funktion
- Head of circulation
- andrea.zumofen@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 93 23
Reading Rooms

- Name / Titel
- Melissa Hofstetter
- Funktion
- Head of reading rooms, Training manager
- melissa.hofstetter@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 09
Reference and tutorials

- Name / Titel
- Emanuel Roder
- Funktion
- Head of reference and tutorials
- emanuel.roder@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 73
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Collection management

- Name / Titel
- Dr. Samuel Weibel
- Funktion
- Head Münstergasse Library a.i., Head Media Processing Department, co-coordinator collection management, subject librarian music
- samuel.weibel@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 30
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Periodicals Service Center

- Name / Titel
- Nicole Rothen
- Funktion
- Head Periodicals Service Center
- nicole.rothen@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 95 04
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 93 83
Cataloging

- Name / Titel
- René Frei
- Funktion
- Head of cataloging
- rene.frei@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 93 22
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Historic Collection Center

- Name / Titel
- Ulrike Bürger
- Funktion
- Head of Historic Collections Center, subject librarian old prints and bibliology
- ulrike.buerger@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 93 47
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Old and Rare Book Collection

- Name / Titel
- Dr. Sabine Schlüter
- Funktion
- Head of Old and Rare Book Collection
- sabine.schlueter@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 50
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Bernensia Collection
- Name / Titel
- Thomas Hayoz
- Funktion
- Head of Bernensia Collection
- thomas.hayoz@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 92 85
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
Preservation Services

- Name / Titel
- Petra Hanschke
- Funktion
- Head of preservation services
- petra.hanschke@ub.unibe.ch
- Phone
- +41 31 631 93 49
- Phone2
- +41 31 631 92 11
History
The history of the first secular library building in Switzerland
Between 1533 and 1535, the book collections of the Latin School, the canons' monastery and the dissolved Bernese monasteries were brought together in the west wing of the Barfüsserkloster to form the "Libery" of the Hohe Schule. The book stock grows mainly through donations from private scholars or from High School professors such as Arthopoeus (Niklaus Pfister) or Johannes Fädminger.

In 1632, the library received the book collection of the diplomat and humanist Jacques Bongars (1554-1612), doubling the library collection with its over 3000 volumes.


The market stalls and the mule stables on the ground floor were abolished in 1803 and the openings to the arcade were bricked up.
From 1860 to 1863, the library was extended towards the east (Münstergasse 61) by Gottlieb Hebler.
In 1887, the library was divided into a city library and a university library. Eduard v. Rodt oversaw the extension in the west part (Münstergasse 63) from 1904 to 1905.
In 1909, the library gallery of Niklaus Sprüngli was demolished. Since 1911, the gallery's façade has been standing as a fountain façade on Thunplatz.
In 1951, the Canton of Bern, the Burgergemeinde Bern and the residents of the city of Berne created the foundation City and University Library of Bern (StUB). At the same time, the Burgerbibliothek Bern was founded, taking over the manuscript and graphic departments of the former library.


From 2007 to 2009, the City and University Library (StUB) and the university libraries merged to form the University Library of Bern (UB).
The last comprehensive renovation took place from 2014 to 2016. The library building at Münstergasse 61/63 was rebuilt during two and a half years. The renovations were completed in May 2016 and it reopened with the new name Bibliothek Münstergasse.
Building contractor, client: Burgergemeinde Bern
Investment: 37,3 Millionen Franken
Architects: alb architektengemeinschaft ag, Bern
Bibliography
- Engler, Claudia, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Bern, in: Handbuch der historischen Buchbestände der Schweiz, Bern 2003
- Schatzkammern. 200 Jahre Bücher, Handschriften und Sammlungen im Gebäude an der Münstergasse 61-63. In: Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Heimatkunde, 56 (1994), 161-252
- Michel, Hans A. Das wissenschaftliche Bibliothekswesen Berns vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. In: Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Heimatkunde, 47 (1985), 168-234
- Bibliotheca Bernensis 1974. Festgabe zur Einweihung des umgebauten und erweiterten Gebäudes der Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek und der Burgerbibliothek Bern am 29. und 30. August 1974. Bern, 1974
- Bloesch, Hans (Hrsg.): Die Stadt- und Hochschulbibliothek Bern. Zur Erinnerung an ihr 400jähriges Bestehen und an die Schenkung der Bongarsiana im Jahr 1632. Bern: Gustav Grunau, 1932