From book storage to public space

From book storage to public space SAGA Public Spaces In Transformation March 17 -18, 2014 St. Petersburg

Mr. Kari L채ms채 Department Head of Library 10 & Meetingpoint Helsinki City Library

Helsinki City Library

•600 000 inhabitants •36 libraries •16 loans / inhabitant •11,3 visits / inhabitant March 24, 2014

2 © 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Library 10 in Post Office building

•Opened April 1, 2005 •Open every day: 80 h/wk •Customers 2 000/day •Public space 800 m² •Developing new library services and working methods

Meetingpoint in the Lasipalatsi Film and Media Centre

Laboratory for pilot projects, thinking & testing services for the Central Library

• Urban Office working facilities • Urban Workshop equipments • Laptop services for seniors

Customers

• Ages 15-30 60 % • Percentage of customers that are male 50 % • Percentage of customers that check-out materials 25 %

Customer as media creator

Customer as cultural publisher

Customers can come to the library to play, record and edit their own music, spoken word and videos.

Customer as digitizer

Digitize LP records and c-casettes as mp3’s and VHS videos to DVD’s

Customer as peer teacher

In the laptop club seniors learn together- helping each other

Customer as event organizer and performer

• Customers participate in organizing exhibitions, events, and concerts • 80 % of all events organize by customers

New needs of the library space

Library 10 before

Library 10 now

- Materials that seldom ( one year) circulated were removed - New lower shelves were installed

Visible entrance

Opening hours: Mon-Thu 8-22 Fri 8-20 Sat-Sun 12-18

Must there be a reason for uncomfortable chairs in libraries?

Comfortable furnishings

Flexible furnishing

Work how you want, furnish as you need

Library as a media studio

Library as a venue

Library as an Office

Urban Office for urban wanderers

Small business owners, freelancers, associations, participants of meetings, and employees of various businesses who are running errands in the centre between meetings.

Mobile soundproof chairs

Mobile soundproof walls

American Library Association’s Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects 2012

Library as a Makerspace

24.03.14 kaupunginkirjasto 24 3D printers and 3D scanner,Helsingin vinyl cutter, milling cutter, graphics station

Library as a Forum

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Free of charge, reservable space Workshops, lectures, meetings Start ups and small scale entrepreneurs Organisations, societies and groups Equipment for presentations & possibility for flexible arrangement of the space

Library as a chill-out place

From collection to selection

Digital newspapers and current paperbacks

Paperback books - Throw-away mentality

• • • •

Fiction and non-fiction In Finnish and English Load period 28 days Non-renewable, non-requestable 24.03.14

• • •

Short shelf life expectancy Read until they fall apart Not kept in alphabetical order

How change the way we work?

Average age under 35 All together 28 Males 19

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Department head 2 Service managers IT specialist Media assistant Music librarians

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Events organizer Library assistants Apprenticeship students Non-military service Students as covers and trainees

Visible staff

From sitting and waiting to walking and talking

During rush hours librarians walk around doing �nothing� other than be available

Side by side guiding

Making a Library Card

Librarian as a Personal Trainer •Librarian and the customer together create a personal listening plan in person or by email •The listening plan is tailored to meet the needs and interests of the customer •Discussing and enjoying the selected material in the library listening room

Old service in a new package

Librarian as a event organizer

Librarian as a studio guide Librarian as a laptop doctor

Librarian as a 3D tinker

The librarian 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.

From reading room to working room

With moveable chairs and tables customers can furnish the library as a personal working room.

From book storage to public space

‘Helsinki of my Dreams’ prize by Radio Helsinki and Finland’s largest national newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat Quality Innovation of the Year Award in the public sector by the Excellence Finland organisation

(individual) lending, reading, collecting

(community) working, doing, enterprising

Transfer of the ownership

Next step: The Central Library 2018

March 24, 2014

40 Š 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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10 000 m², 8000 visitors a day

March 24, 2014

41 Š 2011 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

|

The

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whereand by sharing ideas thoughts,

knowledge, skills

and stories create we together

a new Vision of the civic Helsinki City Library society.