The Helsinki Central Library Oodi ( fi, Helsingin keskustakirjasto Oodi; sv, Helsingfors centrumbibliotek Ode), commonly referred to as Oodi (), is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. The library is situated in the

Kluuvi Kluuvi (; sv, Gloet) is the commercial centre of Helsinki, Finland, and a neighbourhood in the Vironniemi district of Helsinki. The Helsinki Central railway station, Hotel Kämp and Hotel Arthur, the Helsinki main post office, the Stockmann and ...

district, close to

Helsinki Central Station Helsinki Central Station ( fi, Helsingin päärautatieasema, sv, Helsingfors centralstation) (HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 peop ...

and next to

Helsinki Music Centre sv, Musikhuset i Helsingfors , image = Centro Musical de Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 01.JPG , caption = Helsinki Music Centre in August 2011, shortly before opening , former_names = , building_type ...

and

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art ) , established = (Museum of Contemporary Art) (opening of Kiasma building) , dissolved = , location = Helsinki, Finland , type = Art museum , accreditation = , key_holdings = , co ...

. Despite its name, the library is not the main library in the

Helsinki City Library Helsinki City Library ( fi, Helsingin Kaupunginkirjasto, until 1910 ''Helsinki People's Library'') is the largest public library in Finland. Owned by the Helsinki, City of Helsinki, the library has 37 branches and a collection of about 1.56 million ...

system, which is located in

Pasila Pasila (; sv, Böle, ) is a part of Helsinki, Finland, that is both a central-northern neighbourhood and district, bordering the areas of Alppila to the south, the Central Park (Keskuspuisto) to the west, and Vallila to the east. Pasila is a ...

instead.

History

A design competition in 2012 to build the library was won by the Finnish architectural firm ALA Architects and structural design by

Ramboll Rambøll Group A/S (also known as just "Ramboll") is a Danish consulting engineering group. History Rambøll was founded in October 1945 as "Rambøll & Hannemann" in Copenhagen. In 1991 the company merged with "B. Højlund Rasmussen A/S" into ...

Finland. ALA Architects won the commission over 543 other competitors. The library was planned to be a three-story building and to include a

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

(which hasn't materialised ) and a ground-floor movie theatre. In January 2015, the

Helsinki City Council The City Council of Helsinki (, ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport. The 85-seat Council's membe ...

voted 75–8 to launch the building project. The estimated costs of the new library was , of which the state agreed to pay in connection with the centenary of

Finland's independence The Finnish Declaration of Independence ( fi, Suomen itsenäisyysjulistus; sv, Finlands självständighetsförklaring; russian: Провозглашение независимости Финляндии) was adopted by the Parliament of Finl ...

in 2017. The City of Helsinki budgeted for the building. On December 31, 2016, it was announced that the new library would be named in Finnish and in Swedish. The name was selected from a pool of some 1,600 names proposed by the public. According to Helsinki Deputy City Director Ritva Viljanen, "Oodi" was chosen because it's easy to remember, easy to say, and easy to translate. The selection jury also did not want to name the new library after a person. The library was built in the Töölönlahti district next to

and

and inaugurated on 5 December 2018 on the eve of the

Finnish Independence Day Independence Day of Finland ( fi, itsenäisyyspäivä; sv, självständighetsdagen) is a national public holiday, and a flag flying day, held on 6 December to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian Empire when the ...

Awards

In 2019, the

International Federation of Library Associations The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of people who rely on libraries and information professionals. An independent, non-governmental, not-for-pr ...

(IFLA) named Oodi as the best Public Library of the Year.

Services

Specially designed robots transport books to the third floor that has an area designated for books. The rest of the space is designed for meetings and events. The National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) organizes regular archival film screenings at the Kino Regina cinema, located since 2019 in the Helsinki Central Library Oodi.

Gallery

References

External links