How Helsinki Built ‘Book Heaven’

  • This has reminded me I've not visited my town's municipal libraries in ages!

    So, if you care about libraries and literacy as an aspect of society - especially in the face of the world of brief tweets and text messages, and disappearing wall posts - why not...

    * Visit your municipality's website (or maybe any search engine)

    * Look for a map or list of public libraries around you

    * Go visit one and spend some time there - reading or even just tapping away at your laptop

    Libraries thrive by attendance after all...

  • It sounds like a community center, not a library. I’m happy that Helsinki has created a (rather expensive) place where people can work on computers or have meetings - but that doesn’t make it a “book heaven” and it certainly doesn’t help preserve and spread the notion that a book is an inherently valuable thing, one that tends to contain deeper and more insightful knowledge that 99% of the Internet.

  • It's actually pretty low on books when it comes to Helsinki Metropolitan Area Libraries.

  • If I could design a library, I would throw out all the books. I would have lots of little rooms instead of open spaces. I would toss out all the uncomfortable designer chairs and put in comfortable and ergonomic seats instead.

    It would really be an office instead of a library, but I think this is what people actually want.

  • Not really Book Heaven at all. More like Amazing Community Center. You can host lan parties there, use studio grade audio equipment, 3d printers etc. Its quite massive.

  • BTW. I think Dang had shadow-banned all Helsinki library computers. Throwaways did not work last time I tried.

  • The single most thing that a library could do to be of more use to the public is to stock more books, and from that respect, this does not sound that much of a nice place, they could have a lot, lot more books given the space, but they haven't.

  • shick

  • i totally agree man

  • Thats true man