Search - Find
Whether you want to use electronic media, need a print publication or are looking for the latest scientific findings in your field, our search systems are here to help.
Searching for media
Search portal ZHAW swisscovery
ZHAW swisscovery serves as a single point of entry to search all ZHAW University Library holdings. You will be able to find both print and digital materials with a single search query. Extracts from the ZHAW digitalcollection are also included.
The national research platform swisscovery lists more than 30 million media (books, series, journals, non-book materials) and more than 3 billion electronic articles.
Borrow and order
Find out how to register as a user, how to borrow, collect or return media resources and how to extend loans.
Learn more about borrowing and ordering
User account (top right)
E-books
E-media portal
Due to the transition to ZHAW swisscovery, the e-media portal will no longer be updated as of 1 December 2020. It will be deleted in the first quarter of 2021.
The e-media portal lists the e-books held in the University Library. You can access not only the full text of the e-books in the ZHAW holding but also a large number of electronic documents in the public domain.
Use “Thematische Suche” (in German only) on the homepage if you don’t have a specific keyword and you want to receive initial search results on a topic quickly.
E-book supplier platforms
If you want to access only the e-books provided by a specific supplier, you can use the e-book supplier platforms (in German). These platforms offer additional search functionalities, such as a full-text search. However, the platforms display not only licensed but also unlicensed sources. This means that only some of the hits will give you access to the full text.
Journals
Electronic journals
Due to the transition to ZHAW swisscovery, the Electronic Journals Library (EZB) will no longer be updated as of 1 December 2020. It will be deleted in the first quarter of 2021.
You’ll find the University Library collection of electronic journals listed in the EZB. It also has Open Access journals (titles which can be freely accessed in the Internet).
If you are looking for articles, we recommend searching in our databases.
Searching in journals and newspapers (in German)
Journal articles Databases
Newspaper articles Press databases
E-journals provided by suppliers or publishers E-journal platforms
Bibliographical information on journals, serials, newspapers Ulrichsweb
Journal archives for private individuals National licences
Print journals
You can find the University Library’s holding of print journals listed in ZHAW swisscovery. As a rule, these journals are not borrowable.
ZHAW digitalcollection
The ZHAW digitalcollection is the ZHAW's digital repository. As a document repository and publication service for THAW staff, it contains ZHAW publications (working papers and theses), secondary publications (green open access), as well as bibliographic references.
You can find more information in the ZHAW digitalcollection wiki.
Databases
Databases available
The University Library has a wide range of databases focussing on different specialist areas. If you are looking for a specific database for your field, use the ZHAW website search at the top of this page.
LinkSolver - link to full text
Many bibliographic databases are activated for LinkSolver. If you click on the LinkSolver symbol next to a citation in a database, you will be automatically redirected to the full text, if this is available. If it is not available, you will be redirected to ZHAW swisscovery, where you can check whether the document you are looking for is available in print form in a library.
Electronic reference works
Use our range of dictionaries and encyclopaedias to gain an overview of a topic, find a definition of a term or keywords for your search.
- Monolingual dictionaries (in German)
- Multilingual dictionaries (in German)
- Specialist dictionaries and encyclopaedias (in German)
Not found what you’re looking for?
- Find out about search techniques or reference service.
- Make an acquisition proposal (in German).
- Submit a request for an interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loans are subject to charges. For ZHAW employees, these costs are covered by the university library.