In the service of research and teaching: watch the e-rara anniversary event

The tenth anniversary of e-rara was marked with presentations, visualisations and discussions – online, in public and live. Find out what researchers have been saying about retrospective digitisation and learn more about the platform online.

Were you one of more than 100 people who attended the panel discussion on the tenth anniversary of e-rara, the platform for digitised prints from Swiss institutions, live on 20 April 2021? Did you watch the public virtual panel discussion live? Don’t worry if you didn’t. You can now watch a recording of the panel discussion external page through our YouTube channel to find out about the current state of retrospective digitisation and the significance of digitised-resource platforms for research.

e-rara.ch – a success story?

In his opening presentation, Professor Rudolf Mumenthaler, the initiator of e-rara and current Director of the Zurich University Library (in development) talked about the exciting development, establishment and further goals of the platform. The Swiss libraries have been operating e-rara jointly for over 10 years.

One panel, many experts

Qualified experts engaged in interesting conversations at the panel discussion. In their animated and knowledgeable speeches, they explained the great potential of the platform, shared their own experiences and fleshed out their thoughts about the topic of retrospective digitisation. They

  • shed a light on the role of digital platforms in the library sector,
  • evaluated the quality of their contents (scans, metadata, etc.) and
  • expressed and assessed the various requirements and wishes for the future of e-rara.

Even Froschauer is impressed!

In the entertaining external page video produced to mark the occasion of e-rara’s tenth anniversary, experts explain the benefits of preserving and distributing books through retrospective digitisation to none other than Christoph Froschauer, the sixteenth-century printer and publisher. Have a look – you’ll be impressed, too!

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About e-rara

The external page e-rara platform, developed as part of the “e-lib.ch: Swiss electronic library” project, went live in 2010. The Bibliothèque de Genève, the ETH Library, the University Library Basel, the University Library Bern and the Zurich Central Library run the platform together.

Many other libraries also contribute their stock to help expand the service. There are now more than 84,000 titles available on e-rara.

Contact and comments

Are you looking for further information about the panel discussion or do you have questions about e-rara and wish to speak to its owners? Contact Dr Meda Hotea, e-rara Coordination Manager, by email at 

More than just data – Benefit from know-how

#KnowMore – The prepared content issued by the ETH Library is at your free disposal and gives you a head start.

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