General public collection

We select documents in all areas and all formats to offer you an extensive and varied collection. You will find fiction and documentaries, beautifully illustrated fine books, travel guides, practical guides and books on sport, leisure, health, personal development, etc. There is a special emphasis on current affairs, societal problems and the environment.

Highlights include:

• an extensive collection of fiction and documentary DVDs
• documents in German, English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese
• audio books (recorded literature on discs)
• language-learning courses at different levels, including materials for learning French
• comic strips, mangas and graphic novels
• large-print books for people who have difficulty reading
• a collection of African literature in French
• Parenthèse, a selection of documents for children
• A choice of books for young adults

We offer an exceptional choice of newspapers and magazines:

Regional, Swiss and international press: 24 Heures, Le Temps, the Corriere del Ticino, the NZZ and other national and international titles.

News magazines: L’Illustré, Le Nouvel Obs, L’Express, Le Point, Marianne, etc., as well as magazines in the fields of history, geography, technology, the arts, literature, music and the cinema.

The latest issue can be read in the library, with previous issues available to borrow.

Several newspapers and magazines are also available online, via the public computers, or in some cases, remotely.

• eLectures: +10,000 digital books, including 2,000 in English
• Assimil: online self-directed language learning
• PressReader: +800 daily newspapers and magazines in their original page layout and format
• Europresse: French-language and international press
• Cairn.info: access to eight leading magazines (Alternatives économiques, Alternatives internationales, Sciences Humaines, Les grands dossiers Sciences Humaines, Manière de voir, Le Magazine littéraire, L’Histoire, Le Monde diplomatique)

For more information, see the databases page

The Riponne site promotes linguistic and cultural diversity and is aimed at the various foreign communities in the canton. The library’s document collections, services and programme of cultural events all make it easier for migrant populations to meet, chat and integrate into the community. This role is strengthened by the gradual development of collections in the main languages spoken by migrant communities. You will therefore find books in English, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, among others. You will also find bilingual books, language-learning methods, easy reads and dictionaries.

For more information, please contact us or find out more by visiting the library when the loan desks are open.