go through the door closest to the corner of Hotelgasse, take an immediate left and go through the…read morelittle exhibit area. and make sure to take a look at what is there as you pass by. you will get to a little room with a few tables and some coffee and snack machines. the most brilliant part of this room? the free newspapers! they have all the swiss newspapers, and also french, german, and italian papers, the international herald tribune, the new york times - all there for you to peruse at your leisure. back issues are stacked on a shelf and that day's papers are hanging up on poles. the coffee from the machine is pretty good too. and it is warm in there. a great place to sit and read the paper and even mingle with bern university students and professors if you are so inclined! beautiful.

Why this place is never busy is beyond me, because it's a godsend if you are looking for an English…read morebook library. Nowhere else can you buy recent magazines for a swiss franc or gently used books for a few $$. Please, please support this place by becoming a member and reading some new books! If no one goes, it won't be around for long.

Of course there is a lot of knowledge available, but this is one of the modern public buildings I…read morereally like. How did they do the different walls, what material is in the ceiling? What about the front? Lots of relaxing areas. Not to mention the lakeview.

This is a beautiful library that takes a classic, clean, simple facade and elevates it up many…read morenotches. The natural lighting compliments the area perfectly. It's a perfect place to study because of how well lit, quiet, and peaceful the building is. If it's your first time inside you'll likely be distracted by the architecture which is perfectly understandable.

Definitely worth a visit just to admire the impressive architecture by Santiago Calatrava, which…read moreyou wouldn't suspect to be hiding inside by the outer looks of the building. Make sure to also take the glass elevator all the way up. It's easiest to enter the building from the back. When entering from Rämistrasse, it's slightly tricky to find the way to the library. There are lockers to leave your bags, which you're not supposed to bring inside (need a 2CHF coin). No flash photography so that the people studying there won't be disturbed.

Bücherauswahl hinsichtlich der Japanischen Sengoku Jidai nur sehr begrenzt - auch andernfalls…read morejedoch, so sind auch etliche naturhistorische und gesellschaftsspezifische Themen defizitiär. Personal grösstenteils äusserst unfreundlich und Bezahlung ebenfalls extremst kompliziert, Preise für gescannte Dokumente und Heimlieferungen überteuert, was alles unglaublich unprofessionell für eine Bibliothek universitären Niveaus ist. Diese wissenschaftliche Bibliothek braucht eindeutig dringendst eine Überarbeitung hinsichtlich der dargelegten Materialien, Organisation UND Personalfachkräften, dieses Erachten ist wohl von kaum jemandem zu bestreiten, der oder die jemals das Glück - oder wohl eher das Pech - hatten, der Zürcher Zentralbibliothek einen Besuch abstatten zu müssen.

This is the central location for the Pestalozzi Bibliothek Zürich (PBZ) system, and it shows…read more Three floors of books, one floor just for friendly check-in and automated check-out, and a central location. It's referred to as the "Altstadt" branch in the PBZ literature and website. I'm not sure I'd consider the "café" area much of a cafe --- as far as I can tell, there's tables where it's OK to eat, and an automated Nescafe machine. "Library café" usually implies the option for a slice of cake to me. I do like that there's a bit of a kid's play area downstairs, near the kid's books --- but it's not much of one (certainly smaller than the kid's room at the library in Boulder, Colorado where I spent so much time). All in all, when the Höngg and Altstetten branches don't have the book I'm looking for, I turn to this one.

Everybody should profit from this opportunity that the city of Zurich offers...There are books (for…read morekids and adults), magazines, language courses, dvds and a wide choice of music. I love that place! Everything for a very affordable price (something like 30 chf per year for students) and very flexible loan conditions. There are several libraries throughout the city of Zurich. I advise everyone to go there and have a look of what I am talking about on their own. You can rent a book in one library and give it back in another one! Amazing! The building in the old city (the one I go to) is huge and the staff very nice!