SwissInfoDesk
SwissInfoDesk is an information service provided by the Swiss National Library .
Structure and organization
SwissInfoDesk offers support for research on topics that affect Switzerland , especially on cultural topics such as history , politics , geography , folklore , but also on art and literature . Questions are answered by email, telephone, letter or a web form in German , French , Italian and English . You will be answered by specially trained information specialists.
Questions about Swiss literatures are dealt with by the experts at the Swiss Literary Archives , while those about art and architecture are dealt with by those at the National Library's graphic collection. The processing time is 2 working days. For example, a question that arrives on Monday at 10 a.m. will be answered by Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the latest.
The answers from SwissInfoDesk usually consist of commented bibliographical information and references to other sources ; simpler questions are answered directly. SwissInfoDesk does not provide legal, medical or tourist information.
For average inquiries (requiring up to 30 minutes of effort), SwissInfoDesk searches are free of charge. In the case of inquiries for which the effort is likely to be significantly higher, those affected will receive a cost estimate beforehand. SwissInfoDesk is networked with numerous information services from other libraries and archives . Questions that can be better processed by a partner institution are forwarded to them.
The employees who look after SwissInfoDesk maintain a commented collection of links on Swiss topics under the same name on the website of the Swiss National Library.