The use of the National Library of Finland’s digitized content increased by 42 %
Published: 22.1.2009
Over 190,000 customers visited one of Finland’s largest and oldest
academic libraries
Regarding the National Library of Finland’s services, the popularity of its many electronic materials grew significantly last year. For example, the utilization of digitized materials increased from 3.3 million to 4.7 million page searches (+42 %). A total of 11 million articles – representing a 32 % increase over the previous year – were downloaded from the electronic library (FinELib) that serves Finnish universities, polytechnics, public libraries, special libraries and many research institutes.
During the year, the National Library of Finland’s collections grew by approximately one shelf kilometer. As the year drew to a close, the country’s more extensive collections comprised a total of 107 shelf kilometers. Over 500,000 new digitized pages were produced for customers’ use online. The number of public websites, gathered by the web harvesting method since 2006, grew by approximately 61.3 million.
In turn, the content of the National Bibliography and National Discography grew by a total of over 26,000 published titles. Statistics itemizing subject areas, language distributions and publishing densities indicated that approximately 14,000 books, 370 newspapers and 5,500 appear in Finland each year.
A total of 190,480 customers visited the National Library of Finland’s main building on Unioninkatu. The busiest month was May, when 23,678 guests and users visited one of Finland’s largest and oldest academic libraries; 2,394 separate events were processed in information services.
In a customer satisfaction survey carried out in 2008, research libraries’ personal customers gave a grade of 8.8 (on a scale of 0–10). Most of the customers of library services – Finland's university, polytechnic, public and special libraries – also considered the provided services either important or extremely important.
The National Library of Finland was presented to a total of 950 guests or visiting groups in 2008. Among others, the President of Italy President Giorgio Napolitano and his wife visited the National Library’s main building and collections in connection with a state visit during September. The library’s collections and activities were also publicized through 22 exhibitions or other cultural events.
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The National Library of Finland is the University of Helsinki’s largest separate institution. Until 2006 it was known as the Helsinki University Library; the institution’s roots extend back to the founding of the Turku Academy in 1640. The National Library of Finland has 225 full-time employees.
Further information
Planning Officer Tiina Lehmikoski-Pessa, Administration and Development
Tel. +358 (0)9 191 23819, tiina.lehmikoski-pessa(at)helsinki.fi
