Finnish Public Libraries in 2014

Finnish Public Libraries in 2014NAPLE AssemblyAthens, May 13, 2014Leena Aaltonen,Counsellor for Cultural Affairs

Finnish Public Libraries in 2014

• Municipality reform• Reorganisation of the regional library network• Library Act reform

• current Library Act dates from 1998• new act will come into force on the 1st of January 2016

• Impact evaluation of the library development projects funded by the ministry of education and culture is starting later this year

• Public interface FINNA (National Digital Library project) http://www.kdk.fi/en/public-interface

• public libraries will join Finna gradually

Finnish public libraries in 2013Some figures

http://tilastot.kirjastot.fi/en-GB/

• Libraries 815. Main Libraries 291Mobile libraries 148. One library boat

• Collection: 38 mill. (of which books 34 mill.)• Person years: 4 183• Visits/inhabitant: 9,5 (total 51 mill.)• Virtual visits: 53 mill. visits on library web-services• Lending/inhabitant: 17,2 (total 93 mill.)• Costs/inhabitant: 59 euros• Population: 5,4 mill.

The Helsinki Central Library project

- Official jubilee project of the Finnish independence (2017)

- Special state funding- Located at the most visible

and central site in Helsinki- Library ideology highly

valued by decision makers- Living room and center for

civic activities- Designed by the Finnish

ALA architects

- Opening 2018