Terms of Use

  1. The collections of the Paul Sacher Foundation (Paul Sacher Stiftung, hereinafter referred to as ‘the PSS’) are available for academic research free of charge.
  2. The Foundation's collections can only be consulted after prior registration through the contact form on the Foundation's homepage and during opening hours.
  3. The collections and library resources may only be consulted in the PSS’s reading rooms. Materials are provided once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Requests for material can be submitted on site until 11:15 a.m. for the afternoon or until 4:45 p.m. for the following day.
  4. Access to the archive documents is usually provided by means of microfilms and scans. Original documents can only be viewed in exceptional cases and in limited daily quantities. For conservation, legal or other reasons, certain items cannot be made available.
  5. As a rule, no working copies or scans of the collection documents shall be made for use outside the PSS.
  6. The Foundation's entire collections must be handled with great care and respect. When consulting manuscripts and other materials, only the use of a pencil and/or laptop/tablet is allowed. Writing in and on archive material is prohibited. All documents must be left in the presented order, even if inaccuracies should be detected. Any indication of deficiencies and errors in the attribution or classification is appreciated.
  7. The use of technical devices (laptop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.) is permitted in the reading rooms for research-related purposes only; all devices must be set to silent mode. Photographing, as well as sound and film recordings, are strictly prohibited inside the PSS.
  8. Eating and drinking are not allowed in the reading rooms; smoking is prohibited throughout the building. Coats, jackets, bags, folders and the like may not be taken into the reading rooms but must be deposited in the cloakroom and the lockers provided for this purpose (key deposit: CHF 2.-) in the first basement. Liability for all items on the premises is excluded in the entire user area.
  9. Permission to view the archive documents does not include the right to publish them. Any publication (in whole or in part) is subject to prior permission granted by the PSS. Reproduction requests may be submitted for use in publications. The scanning – or, in exceptional cases, photographing – of printed materials is authorised only after prior agreement. In case of infringement, the Foundation retains the right to take appropriate measures.
  10. Users shall ensure that copyrights, personal rights and other PSS or third-party existing rights concerning the collection materials are not violated. Users are solely responsible for preserving the rights relevant to publication, in particular copyrights and personal rights. The PSS is not liable to third parties for damages resulting from the infringement of such rights.
  11. If scientific results based on the Foundation's collections are published, reference to the PSS as the repository must be made appropriately; two specimen copies are expected. The reproduction of PSS documents in publications is only permitted with the Foundation's prior written consent.
  12. Access to the PSS may be restricted or denied at any time without stating the reasons.

All visitors of the Paul Sacher Foundation undertake to comply with these Terms of Use and are liable for all damages and prejudice incurred by the Foundation in the event of non-compliance.

These Terms of Use are subject to change without notice.

October 2023