The Library specialises in a limited range of collections that have a close thematic relationship to the archival holdings. It primarily collects «Bernensia», official publications, publications on Swiss history and on archive and auxiliary sciences as well as reference works.
The library collection includes about
- 56,000 books
thereof - 250 periodicals and series
- 250 newspapers (25 of which are still in existence)
- Official publications (Canton of Bern)
The State Archive Library is not a lending library. Books and periodicals may only be consulted in the Library’s reading room.
Commonly requested works are arranged in the reading rooms according to the following system and can be consulted directly: Dictionaries and encyclopaedias, auxiliary sciences, Swiss history, Bernese history (including local history), genealogy as well as official publications («Staatskalender», annual report, Cantonal Parliament Gazette «Tagblatt des Grossen Rates») and laws.
The Bernese Official Publications can be found in the catalogue under the reference «StAB AD. BE».
To search our holdings, use the research platform «swisscovery Bern special libraries» and use a filter to limit the search results to the holdings of the State Archives.
In addition to the library holdings, other printed materials (articles, offprints, newspaper cuttings, printed source material, gray literature, etc.) can be found in the archive catalogue in the documentation section (Alte Bibliothek).