Turku City Library

ยง

Turun kaupunginkirjasto Turku City Library

Turku City Library centre of knowledge, experiences and learning 1

Welcome to the new age library!

Turku Main Library comprises the new section completed in 2007, the old library building built in 1903, and the former governor’s office from 1818, which now houses the library’s conference rooms and café. The library’s elegant, modern new section is the location of the Non-Fiction Department, the Children and Youth Department, the Reception and the News Area. Refurbished in 2008, the splendid old

2

library building makes an imposing setting for the Arts Department.

The individual buildings together form a functional whole. Welcome to our library. You can enter either through the massive oak doors and get a taste of a hundred years of history, or through the electric glass doors straight into a new age!

The library is arranged by content The Main Library is divided into departments according to subject matter.

All material – books, magazines, CDs and DVDs - related to the same subject matter is situated in the same department, regardless of the publication type and the way the material is used. The staff in each department have specialised knowledge of the subject in question.

New technology increases flexibility Modern technology at the Main Library offers new services and makes it easier to use the library independently. You can borrow and return material in every department using automatic lending machines. The staff are on hand to help if necessary. All the departments feature this automatic borrowing system. To use it you need a library card and a PIN. You can get the free library card simply by proving your identity.

Borrowed items are returned to the automatic machines located by the main entrances. Here they are sorted and sent to the relevant departments.

The library’s reception desk is the place to go if anything is unclear or there are charges to pay.

The library card is also a Culture Card If you like, you can use your new library card as a Culture Card.

The card enables you to obtain information and concessions on cultural events in Turku that you are interested in.

3

Have fun, find out and linger a while The library features several areas for events, exhibitions and meetings as well as plenty of places to read. In the News Area you can read printed or electronic versions of newspapers from different countries.

Customers can use the internet workstations that are to be found here and there around the building and some can be booked in advance. The wireless network, SparkNet – available in all areas - can be used with the library computers or with your own laptop.

The library café can be found in the old governor’s office. Café Sirius serves delicious snacks and refreshments and opens its terrace in the courtyard during the summer time. The library courtyard is an oasis for

4

culture offering a diverse programme of events all year round, including music, exhibitions and book sales.

Group tours of the Main Library can also be arranged.

Just ask the Library!

1

2

Lobby Reception Studio Saga, children’s zone Story, youth zone Toilet Cloakroom News Area Café Sirius Literature Arts Staff workspace i Info Lift Stairs Society Peoples and cultures Nature and hobbies Europe Information Info Market Regional collection Staff workspace Assembly rooms Music Reading room Music room

i

i

i

e

i

i

i i

Find out more about the library’s rooms and facilities using the virtual map on the library’s website at www.turku.fi/library 5

Saga - a limitless world of fairy tales and adventure The children’s zone, Saga, is on the ground floor. Saga is a world where the funniest stories and the most exciting information are hidden. In the shade of the fairy tale forest curtain, children can plunge into literary adventures, play or do their homework. They can curl up in the reading dens to devour comics. Borrowing with the children’s mini robots is such fun that you feel like throwing in a few films as well!

The ‘square’ is surrounded by book houses. Above there is a mysterious planet and a huge zeppelin. Every book is always a new, silent world. You can begin your journey at Saga!

i

lending robots

reading dens

book theatre

Saga’s book houses nature and animals hobbies and technology countries and peoples fairy tales in Swedish picture books fairy tales fantasy

6

Fact, fiction and feelings in the same Story The young themselves create the look of Story, putting on their own exhibitions in vitrines, on the exhibition wall and on a screen. The sofa niche is a tempting space for reading, doing homeworks and socialising.

The materials for young people have a very contemporary feel: the collections of books, comics, magazines, films and games are always being updated.

There are several computers for surfing the internet in Story and young people of 13 or over can book them in advance. The games club that meets every Tuesday plays board games.

Make the library your pastime! Join the customer council at Story’s Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow Story’s blog and participate yourself too at stoori.blogspot.com 7

Information in a variety of formats On the first floor of the new section is the Non-Fiction Department with its various collections. More than a thousand magazines can be found here, and there is a growing number of databases in different fields.

The department is divided into sections, which makes it easier to look for information and make interesting discoveries. The staff, who are specialists in the subject matters, will be only too happy to help you with information sources.

In the quiet reading zone you can become engrossed in study.

8

Sections and subject matter groups in the Non-Fiction Department

Society:

a general knowledge and communication b social sciences and administration c justice d economy and business e upbringing and education

Peoples and cultures:

f philosophy and psychology g religions h geography and ethnology i languages j history k biographies

Nature and hobbies: l health m science n technology (loft, upper floor) o hobbies

Europe Information in Southwestern Finland and the Info Market introducing changing subjects are also situated in the Non-Fiction Department.

Mikael Agricola’s Dauidin Psalter, dating from 1551, is the oldest work in all of Turku City Library’s collections.

2 b

c

a

Society Peoples and cultures Nature and hobbies Europe Information Info Market Regional collection

o l

e m d

k h

j g i

f

9

House of Arts: images, tunes and words The old library building, the Bibliotheca donated to the city by Commercial Counsellor Fredric von Rettig, is now the House of Arts, where materials relating to fiction, the fine arts and music are housed.

In the poetry room you can lose yourself in the world of drama and poetry. In the reading salon the visitor is surrounded by magazines, recently published books, and surprising discoveries. The round section, the rotunda, is used for visits by writers or artists.

On the first floor you can practise your scales on the pianos in the music room or listen to the latest music on demo recordings. Community singing and other music events are opportunities for music lovers to join in.

The Arts Department has 40,000 musical recordings and 160,000 books and other materials. They enable the customer to spend time delving into entire productions and subjects.

10

Sections and subject matter groups in the Arts Department

Literature:

a poetry and drama b novels and short stories in Finnish c novels and short stories in Swedish d fiction in foreign languages e multilingual library f literary study g comics

Arts:

h visual arts i architecture j design k theatre and dance l photography and cinema

Music:

m general works n popular music o art (classical) music p world music q sacred music r theory and instrument schools s instrument construction and soundengineering t sheet music and scores

1

h-l g

f

c

b

Literature Arts Reading salon Rotunda

2

q

d

e

o p

a

n

m

s

r t

Music Reading rooms Music room 11

Protected by walls “A modern library needs to respond to the challenges of current and future communications. On the other hand, the library institution has a long and worthy legacy as a place where information is stored and cherished. The architect has to confront these opposites and somehow combine them.”

Asmo Jaaksi The new section, the governor’s office and the overall plan, year of completion 2007: Architectural office JKMM Architects Ltd main architect Asmo Jaaksi interior architect Päivi Meuronen graphic design Aimo Katajamäki

main building contractor NCC Construction Ltd

”The idea behind the refurbishments to do ‘nothing’ means something – albeit something rather special.”

Ari Paukio Refurbishment of the old library building, year 2008: Architectural office C&Co Ltd architect Ari Paukio

main building contractor Metsämäki Construction Ltd Total surface area 8638 m2: new section 5477 m2, old library building 2876 m2, governor’s office 315 m2 12

Time and memory On all the floors of the Main Library there is art on display, created especially for the space: Hans-Christian Berg: Visual vortex – The Passage of Events | entrance to new library building Saara Ekström: Alkukirjain (Initial Letter) and Aakkoset (the Alphabet) | Non-Fiction Department Hilkka Könönen: Vestigia | News Area Merja Pitkänen: Esiintymä (Occurrence) | Café Sirius Charles Sandison: Sub Rosa | hall in old library building (forthcoming) Ann Sundholm: Hetkinen (Moment) | staff break area

Wladimir Swertschkoff: Danae Photo: Raakkel Närhi / WAM

In addition, the House of Arts exhibits among others works of Wladimir Swertschkoff from the City of Turku art collection.

13

Turku City Library serves the entire region Branch and mobile libraries are a way for the library services to reach neighbourhoods outside the city centre. The library also delivers books to home service customers and homes for the elderly.

Turku City Library is the library for the region of Southwest Finland. Its task is to support, update and modernise library services throughout the region.

Within Vaski co-operation the library’s customer has a possibility to use same library card in all the Vaski libraries and use their common web-based library (www.turku.fi/vaski).

In spring 2008 a new mobile library was brought into operation in Turku.

14

Vaski libraries

Branch libraries become cultural centres Branch libraries are a vital feature of the lives of local residents. Many children have their first contact with the world of books in them or use them to exhibit their own creations.

The branch library is a community centre for information, adventure, IT and other local services.

Children’s events day – the Library Carousel – tours libraries.

Turku City Library 2009 collections visits website visits

loans budget staff

1 million volumes 1,7 million 3,6 million 3 million 10 million euros 150 person years

Päivi Tanner’s series of works Aika virtaa (Time Flows) is on at Nummi Library.

15

The Main Library is open every day except on holidays.

§

Turku City Library Regional Library

layout: Päivi Autere Print: Newprint Ltd 2010

Linnankatu 2, 20100 Turku www.turku.fi/library www.facebook.com/turunkaupunginkirjasto

photos: Päivi Autere, Arno de la Chapelle, Markus Jauhiainen, Merja Marjamäki, Hannu J.A. Aaltonen, Ilkka Manninen, Ann-Christin Antell

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 9-20 (Saga and Story 10-20) Saturday 10-16 Sunday 12-18 Holiday eves on weekdays 10-18