Helsinki Metropolitan Area Libraries (Helmet) is a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

network in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It consists of the city libraries of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Kauniainen Kauniainen (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Kauniainen is situated in the southern part of the Uusimaa region, and it is Enclave and exclave, enclaved by the City of Espoo. The population of Kauniainen ...

, and

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

Network and operation

All libraries in Helmet have common operating rules, procedures, and services. The same library card can be used at any library in the network. Patrons can request material from any library in the network. They can also return and renew materials at any library in the network. The Helmet network consists of 66 locations and six bookmobiles. The regional book storage facility is located at the

Helsinki City Library Helsinki City Library (, 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 books. The City Library is part ...

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

, Helsinki. The storage facility's collection includes more than 200,000 books and over 900 magazine annual volumes. Music related materials are stored at the Tikkurila Library in

Tikkurila Tikkurila (; ) is a Districts of Vantaa, district and major region of the Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Vantaa, Finland. Located in the eastern half of the Greater Helsinki, Helsinki conurbation, some north of the capital's downtow ...

, Vantaa.

History

The libraries of the

Helsinki Metropolitan Area Helsinki metropolitan area (, ) or Greater Helsinki (, ) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller Helsinki capital region, capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater H ...

have been working together since 1976. At the time, they purchased their first common computer-based circulation system. In the 1980s, customers were given regionally common library cards. In 2002, the third joint library data management system was taken into use, with the most recent version being implemented in 2013. Experiences from using the system and its capabilities inspired closer cooperation within the library network. This led to the creation of a common collection, which is now in constant use by the whole population of the Capital Region. According to a study conducted by Taloustutkimus, Helmet was Finland's second most valued online brand in 2012, bested only by

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

References

External links

Helmet website
1976 establishments in Finland Public libraries Libraries in Finland Organisations based in Helsinki Culture in Helsinki Espoo Vantaa Kauniainen Libraries established in 1976 {{library-stub