Helsinki City Library had a record number of visitors in 2024. More books were also borrowed and the number of new library cards issued increased from the previous year.
The number of visitors to Helsinki City Library was higher than ever before since we started recording visitor numbers. A total of 9.2 million people visited the libraries in 2024. This is 13 per cent more than in 2023. The previous record year was the first full year of operation of Central Library Oodi with nine million visitors.
Director of Library Services at the City of Helsinki Katri Vänttinen is happy about the popularity of libraries throughout Helsinki:
– Kalasatama Library opened twelve months ago and has been a great success. Customers have found the library, which has the perfect location and was designed in cooperation with residents, and the library has also attracted new people to use library services. Libraries located in cultural centres, such as in Itäkeskus, Kannelmäki, Malmi, Maunula and Vuosaari, increased their visitor numbers last year. Vuosaari Library, for example, is the second most popular library after Oodi measured in the number of loans with 300,000 loans.
A total of 5.7 million books and other pieces of material were borrowed in libraries in Helsinki last year, which is seven per cent more than the previous year. Children’s literature in particular increased in popularity, with a nine per cent increase compared to 2023.
– We have focused on increasing reading among children and young people, and it is wonderful to see tangible proof of our work paying off in the form of increased numbers of loans. Libraries provide access to diverse reading materials for those who do not have stacked bookshelves at home, as well. We work closely with schools and early childhood education to introduce each child and young person living in Helsinki to libraries, Katri Vänttinen says.
Helsinki also invests in its libraries by renovating library premises. This year, we are working on the planning of the renovation of Rikhardinkatu Library and a new building for Malminkartano Library as well as the construction phase of the new premises for Suutarila Library.
– Studies have found that libraries are the most valued municipal basic service in Finland, and our visitor numbers show that the residents of Helsinki love their libraries. We are developing libraries by listening to the customers and taking special local characteristics into consideration. Libraries are busy places for meetings and interaction, and we are doing our best to accommodate the needs of different user groups under the same roof, Katri Vänttinen says.
