The document discusses the future of libraries and proposes ways that libraries can remain relevant. It suggests that libraries focus on being people-oriented by developing personalized services, creating the library as a public space for various activities, and moving from merely providing access to information to facilitating knowledge creation and innovation through partnerships. The key to ensuring a future for libraries is refining them so their value is seen by looking at societal needs rather than just current services and enriching communities through sharing thoughts, ideas, skills and stories.

1. A Future for Libraries?
Perhaps, if…
Future Library Unconference Athens-Greece
9 – 10 December, 2013
Maija Berndtson
Ex Library Director (Helsinki City Library 1987-2013)

2. Georg Flegel (1566-1638): Stilleben – with apples
”The traditional library”

4. Pieter Brugel the Elder: The Fall of the Rebel Angels,
c.1562
”The Internet Library”

6. Benoit Mandelbrot: Fractals
”The People´s Library”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_GBwuYuOOs

8. ”Fantasy is more
important than
knowledge”.
”Logic will take you from
A to B
but imagination takes you
anywhere”.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

9. Library

10. WHAT ARE LIBRARIES FOR?
Culture
all arts, continuity
Democracy
information, versatility
Development
lifelong learning
Integration
social cohesion, equality
Exploration
research
Serendipity
,2

11. THE STRENGTH OF
THE LIBRARY

12. Customer is the “doer”

13. Creative milieu for everyone

14. Face to face personal guidance

15. CHANGES IN THE LIBRARY
OPERATIONS

16. The physical form
of the library collections
loses its meaning

17. More diverse clientele

18. The concept of the learning,
working The leisure time
and clients’ need
for independent
environment expands
activities increases
The growing significance of
collaboration and interaction

19. The growing importance of
supporting social and digital equality
Locality and physical encounters
are still important

20. Library
services
diversify

21. Challenge
New building architecture
for digital universe
Metadata Electronic books
Open learning
Classical
literature,
music,
movies
Open
data
refinery
Exhibition and
knowledge center
Hybrid media
New knowledge
creation
Helsinki Central Library Project, Feasibility Study 2010
by Klaus Oesch
Cloud computing
National
digital
library
Meeting forum

22. eLibrary
http://www.helmet.fi/en-US/eLibrary/eLibrary_news
• Borrow e-books (e.g.
Overdrive e-books in
English
• Read magazines
anytime, anywhere (e.g.
Ebsco)
• Music library (e.g.
Naxos)
• IndieFlix movie service
• HelMet-pocket library

23. Pocket Library in Helsinki Metropolitan Area
https://github.com/helsinki-city-library/pocketlibrary
•
•
•
Pocket Library is a new kind of a
service for library patrons. It runs on
modern iPhone and Android
smartphones.
The service expands the traditional
notion of checking out materials,
making it possible for library users to
check out books and other items
directly from other users anywhere.
The latest is that the mobile is library
card, too.
To be more generally useful as a
library users personal information
assistant, it also has the ability to
manage the users' loans and explore
the library catalog.

24. Laptop doctor
The Laptop doctor helps customers
one-on-one with updates, security issues,
and installation of programs

25. Urban Office Meeting Point open for all
Modern equipment, free work and business
negotiation place
Skype calls, scanners, headsets, printing,
WLAN-N wireless, web cams for loan, chargers

26. Helsinki City Library – moving around

27. Digitize your LPs and cassettes at Vinyl Bar!
• At the new Vinyl Bar you
can listen to LPs and audio
cassettes, but also convert
them to a digital format.
• The conversion of LPs and
cassettes are specifically to
CD-format, requiring a CDR
/ CDRW disc. It functions on
a self-serve basis.

28. 3D-printing at Meetingpoint
http://www.helmet.fi/enUS/Libraries_and_services/Meetingpointlasipalatsi/Whats_going_on/3Dprinting_at_Meetingpoint(22405)
• With our 3D-printer you are able
to print your own 3D-models or
free models from the internet.
Free and ready-to-use models can
be found for example from
www.thingiverse.com The main
purpose of Meetingpoint's printer
is to experiment and to get
familiar with the new technology.

29. The library as facilitator
The library provides its customers
with space, equipment, and knowhow as needed.
The customers describe what types
of events, materials, and guidance
they need.
The library and its customers develop
activities and events together.

30. Cross-European survey to measure
users’ perceptions of the benefits of ICT in
public libraries
Final report
March 2013
Susannah Quick, Gillian Prior, Ben Toombs, Luke Taylor and Rosanna Currenti
The purpose of the research was to understand the impact that public libraries in the
EU have on users’ lives.
http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Kirjastot/kansainvaelinen_ja_euyhteistyoe/Liitteet/Final_Report_-_Cross-European_Library_Impact.pdf

31. % of adults who have used a public library in
the last 12 months/last month

34. The site of the new central library in
Helsinki,www.keskustakirjasto.fi

35. The winner of the architectural competition of Helsinki Central Library, by ALA Architects,
Käännös

37. The New Central Library in Helsinki - Facts
• A hub of knowledge, skills and stories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
5,000 - 6000 visitors a day
1.5 – 2.0 million visitors a year
200 000 items (books etc) to borrow
Events and guidance
10,000 m² of the library of the future
Open public space, free for all
Open 24/7 – part of it
Every day something new
Construction cost over 90 million Euros
Finished 2017-2018; 2017 The Centennial of Finland´s independence

38. New aspects in and for the planning
process
-
This is not a new main library with the administration and the book
magazine – it is ”a people´s palace”
User-oriented service design
Not one style all over the building
Ubiquitous building: from audiovisual to sensomotoric media culture
All senses
Knowledge, emotion and fantasy
Special attention to the acoustics and the ecology

39. The hottiest topic - the Sauna
• Helsinki citizens already expect the new central library
to have a sauna for their own and tourists’ delight

40. A Future for Libraries? Yes, if…
• we look at people´s lives and at the society, not at our services
• we are people-oriented: from collection and transactions to
relations and communication
• our service code is: Not ”to people”, yes ”for people”, more
”with customers”, and even ”by customers”
• we create personified services
• we make library a living place with different activities and thus
emphasize the role of library as public space and creative
milieu
• we move from offering access to information to knowledge
creating and innovation
• we learn to cooperate and work with different partners

41. The
library
is
an
enricher
of
where by thoughts,
ideas andsharing
knowledge,
skills
we together and stories
create
a new
Vision of the
civic
Helsinki City Library
society.

42. For me libraries are raw diamonds which need to be
refined that their value can be seen!
Thank you!
maija.berndtson@elisanet.fi