The Success of Entresse Library, a Multicultural Approach in Espoo, Finland. paper presented at the IFLA conference in Helsinki 2012

1. The Success of Entresse Library, a Multicultural Approach in Espoo, Finland
Entresse library is situated in the Helsinki Metropolitan area, Finland. It is very much a
multicultural library, open 7 days a week. The library has profiled itself as a place
especially for children, young people and immigrants.
Family day with a lot of royalty at the library , parents and children crafting crowns, inspired by the birth
of a little princess in Sweden. The King normally works in the library´s youth section.
1

2. About 35-45 percent of the Entresse library’s customers and 20 percent of the library staff
have an immigrant background. The library also employs language trainees and help for
the summer among the city´s immigrants. Different strategies are used in realizing the
library´s aim for a heterogeneous staff, for example that the employees should come from
different cultural backgrounds.
Some other important aspects of Entresse library are different kinds of mobile solutions;
the space can be changed for different purposes, the use of colors as guides and an
emphasis on material in different languages and Finnish language courses.
A key to the color coded shelves is to be found at the library´s entrance. Hundreds of acoustic plates hang
from the ceiling, a great invention for a loud library.
2

3. A marketplace for surprising encounters –colors, sounds and events at the library
Entresse library continually arranges different kinds of cultural activities. This spring we
had a series called “Heroes of their own lives” where we invited well-known immigrants
to come to the library and tell the story of their lives. We also had a series called food
cultures of the world where people came together to cook and eat.
A
Somalian fair, with different lending material in Somalian, food tasting and lectures, arranged in
cooperation with the other libraries in Espoo and different organizations outside the library.
3

4. In the autumn a new series of events will start, with the theme Music from different
cultures. The idea is the same as for the food events, the interest in and enjoyment of
music works as the common language.
We also offer a service called ”borrow a librarian”, the customer chooses the language of
the librarian and we find the right person for the task. We have courses in IT for Somalian
women and a club called ”Let´s read together” for immigrant women learning Finnish.
Different courses are regularly also arranged for the multicultural staff. The subject this
spring was an introduction to Finnish literature.
A festival arranged in cooperation with different local organizations and clubs. Since the bookshelves are
on wheels, it is easy to organize events that take up a lot of space.
4

5. The library´s aim is both to offer means for the customer to learn the Finnish language and
support for the customer`s native language. The foreign language collection in the library
is placed at a central spot near the entrance and we have a very well functioning co-
operation with other libraries concerning exchange of materials, both within Espoo and
for example the Helsinki city library´s multilingual section.
We take on a lot of immigrant trainees (language trainees or unemployed people who
need an introduction to the Finnish workplace) in Entresse. They help us arrange many
events. In the autumn we are for example having an Azerbaidzan cultural event which we
are arranging together with a trainee.
Kosovo-Albanian evening at the library. Some of the events we arrange by ourselves but a lot is made
possible with the help of various collaborators, for instance the Espoo social services or cultural bureau,
embassies and cultural organizations.
5

6. A special emphasis on children and teenagers
Entresse library had about 400.000 visitors last year. A large percentage of that amount
consists of children and teenagers. Many of the children practically live in the library,
especially during the school holidays, and they have an enormous thirst for the company
of grown-ups.
The area Suvela, near the library, has inhabitants from many different cultures, many of them living in
either large families or single-parent households.
6

7. The library has responded to this challenge by starting different clubs and activities for the
young. In Entresse library we have had, among many other forms of activities, poetry and
rhyme groups for parents and infants now for three years and for two years a
multicultural creative writing club for schoolchildren.
The poetry and rhyme group for infants and their parents in the Story telling room.
The participants in the children’s creative writing club are ten girls and boys from the ages
9 to 12. Eight of the children have an immigrant background. The club is run by a
children’s librarian and a specialized library assistant and visiting professionals such as
writers and drama instructors.
7

8. The children’s creative writing club in Entresse Library. During the first year the club worked with the
theme of “roots & wings”, as well as different forms of heroism. The subjects were approached with the
help of ancient myths. After listening to stories from all over the world the children created their own
stories through writing and drama.
After two years of experience we note that the children are calmer and more balanced,
their Finnish language skills have development tremendously and they function well in the
group. The creative writing club has worked as a possible means of preventing
marginalization in the area.
8

9. The library´s youth section
In one evening you can find up to 70 teens in the library´s youth section. About 40 % of
them have an immigrant background. The largest immigrant groups come from Somalia,
Kosovo, Estonia, Russia, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The library´s youth department has among its staff one employee who is both a youth
leader and a librarian, and two employees who are studying to become youth leaders by
apprenticeship.
Two library-youth leaders, customers taking some time off playing Fifa-soccer on the x-box and a visiting,
highly appreciated, politician.
9

10. A lot of the teens come to the library to meet friends, sit around in groups and play cards,
board games and simply talk. In time many of them have become regulars who actively
look for the company of the staff. The staff functions as safe adults, conversation partners,
and negotiators. Some of the teens are very restless at times, occasionally there is teasing
or arguments among them. The solving of conflicts is made easier by the fact that the staff
and the teens know each other. Also, when new teens come to the library they are
influenced by the regulars. And finally, the staff has close contacts with the security guards
at the shopping center and the local police, who have made an effort in getting to know
the library´s teen section.
Playing games together with old and new friends is fun. Playstation, wii and x-box in the game room
(enjoying stories, just not from a book), board games, cards, chess. Yes, girls are also interested in chess.
Here´s a tournament going on, with a strict judge and great prizes.
10

11. The majority of the teens come to the library to simply “hang out”. They are not looking
for reading suggestions or more demanding (long term) creative activities. This doesn´t
mean that there isn´t a lot of creativity to be found among them. When the teen section
organize game nights, chess or sing star tournaments, parties where the entertainment
floor is free and short term workshops such as learning to draw Manga, the talents and
stars suddenly emerge. Other events such as learning to write a CV, meeting a young
author who writes fantasy fiction or cooking samosas with the staff have a ready audience
at the teen section.
A comics workshop, lead by a young Somalian student.
11

12. Service-mindedness and ”social capital”
Twenty years ago Finland was still a fairly homogenous country. Since then a lot has
happened, quite fast, and the Finland of today, especially the metropolitan area, is
becoming more and more multicultural. For example the Espoo city library started to look
for ways to achieve a more heterogeneous staff 15 years ago.
The aim was not only to employ people from different cultures but to be able to offer the
customers a personnel that´s as varied as the customers are, young and old, people with
different skills and perspectives.
The staff at Entresse library: different generations, different cultural backgrounds. Also a staff with a
shared service-mindedness, easily recognizable (library uniforms: vests, with the word library written in
three languages).
12

13. This also meant that the library had to rethink some of its basic assumptions. Finland is a
young nation and the library played an important part both in changing a fairly poor
country into a welfare state and in the creation of a national identity.
The Finnish librarian saw himself as a mediator of the Finnish language and literature. In
employing Somalian, Kosovoalbanian and Russian immigrants the conception of the
librarian had to change. This has been helped by the fact that Finland is also a country
with three national languages; Finnish, Swedish and Saami. The idea that the right to one´s
native language is of vital importance has firm roots in the country. The step towards book
collections in other languages and the possibility to be able to offer library services in
many new languages wasn´t difficult to take.
The library has also radically changed in other ways in the last few years. The ability to
communicate with the customers, different kinds of customers and to find ways to get
new customers is often seen of more importance than traditional library skills. With staff
from different cultures you have the means to reach people you otherwise wouldn´t
reach. You have colleagues who teach you, and the customers, about other cultures.
Sometimes they even take you with them to their former home countries, like our library
assistant in Entresse who now for three years in a row has taken groups of colleagues to
visit Kosovo.
With communication it is also important to note that the impact of what you say is much
less than what your body language gives out. If you have so called ”social capital”, the
ability to connect to people, you are worth your weight in gold at the library.
And finally, the working towards a multicultural library in Espoo has been about
integrating immigrants into the Finnish society by offering them employment. It has been
a political choice.
Staff at Entresse library has participated in a program called Multicultural leadership in
practice. The project helped to develop, among other things, a new model for the group
mentoring of new employees with an immigrant background.
Common goals, common values
The people working in Entresse library come from different generations, and have
different educational and cultural backgrounds. People´s behavioral codes are not the
13

14. same and if you harbor any kind of idealistic ideas that “we are different on the outside
but all the same on the inside”, you´re in trouble.
Library staff , trying out new approaches at the teen section (or simply having fun). Two co-workers with
different native languages and different cultural backgrounds; a 26 year old Muslim male and a 46 year
old non-religious, fairly feministic female.
In a multicultural working environment you need courageous staff members, sharing the
same working place values, and courageous superiors who are very much there. Superiors
have to be alert and aware of what´s going on. The traditional bosses of days gone by,
who stayed by their desks doing paperwork, might not stand a chance.
14

15. Rules of the game: we are not that
fond of negative signs in Entresse,
but sometimes it is best to come
out with it. Spring euphoria on
skateboards and small children
toddling around don´t mix. And, Entresse library has declared itself a discrimination-free zone, which
means opposition to discrimination, addressing the problem if one exists and recognizing equality
between human beings.
In Entresse the key to making things work is an ongoing discussion of the rules of the
game, both among the staff and between the staff and the customers. It is a challenge
made easier by an atmosphere that stresses the importance of trying out new things, with
the acknowledgment that failure at times is inevitable for true pioneers.
Helsinki 30.4. 2012
Eva Wilenius, special librarian, team leader in Entresse library, Espoo, Finland
15

16. Abstract:
The Success of Entresse Library, a Multicultural Approach in Espoo, Finland
The colorful and modern Entresse library, opened in 2009, is situated in the Helsinki Metropolitan area,
Finland. It is very much a multicultural library, open 7 days a week. The library has profiled itself as a
place especially for children, young people and immigrants.
About 35-45 percent of the library’s customers and 20 percent of the library staff have an immigrant
background. Different strategies are used in realizing the library´s aim for a staff that is as heterogeneous
as possible.
16