Change of name - expansion of services
Helsingin yliopiston kirjasto, Helsinki University Library, has been renamed: the new name is Kansalliskirjasto, The National Library of Finland. The amendment of the Universities Act providing this change entered into force on 1 August 2006. The library will remain an independent institute of the University of Helsinki.
The change will strengthen the Finnish library system
According to the amended Act, the National Library¿s duty is to offer national services to university libraries, polytechnic libraries, and specialised and public libraries. The purpose of the expansion of the library¿s duties is to strengthen the Finnish library system and the position of the National Library as a development centre for library services.
The joint services offered by the National Library include national databases, acquisition of online resources, software for the digital library, development of standards and formats, and compiling the Finnish Research Library Statistics. These services will be developed in close cooperation with the entire library sector.
Responsibility for national heritage
The new name highlights the status of the library as the preserver of our national cultural heritage. For the past 300 years, the library has had a statutory right to receive free deposit copies of all printed material in Finland; over time, this right has come to cover also sound and image recordings. The deposit copies are placed in the National Collection and catalogued in national databases.
The library is engaged in continuous development work involving various preservation methods, such as digitisation, conservation and micro filming, which all aim at enhancing the availability of materials. The digitisation of the Finnish cultural heritage is a step towards the European digital library advocated by the European Commission.
Finland¿s largest research library in the humanities
The National Library is Finland¿s oldest research library and the emphasis of its collections is on the humanities and social sciences.
The National Library¿s collections of over 100 shelf-kilometres comprise, besides Finnish literature and journals, the National Sound Archive, extensive collections of music, maps and manuscripts, and a variety of special collections, such as the unique collection of historical maps collected by the explorer A. E. Nordenskiöld.
The library keeps abreast of the times by continuously acquiring state-of-the-art research literature in the humanities and social sciences.
Cultural events for the public at large
The National Library is also a cultural institution open to the public: it displays its collections in exhibitions, and arranges concerts, lectures and writers¿ visits together with experts and other cultural institutions.
The National Library building, designed by C. L. Engel and built between 1840 and 1845, is a masterpiece of Finnish architectural history and one of the most beautiful library buildings in the world.