1. Finnish Public Libraries in NAPLE Assembly Athens, May 13, Leena Aaltonen, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs

2. Finnish Public Libraries in 2014
Municipality reform
Reorganisation of the regional library network
Library Act reform
current Library Act dates from 1998
new act will come into force on the 1st of January 2016
Impact evaluation of the library development projects funded by the ministry of education and culture is starting later this year
Public interface FINNA (National Digital Library project)
public libraries will join Finna gradually

3. Finnish public libraries in 2013 Some figures http://tilastot
Libraries 815. Main Libraries 291
Mobile libraries 148. One library boat
Collection: 38 mill. (of which books 34 mill.)
Person years: 4 183
Visits/inhabitant: 9,5 (total 51 mill.)
Virtual visits: 53 mill. visits on library web-services
Lending/inhabitant: 17,2 (total 93 mill.)
Costs/inhabitant: 59 euros
Population: 5,4 mill.

4. The Helsinki Central Library project
Official jubilee project of the Finnish independence (2017)
Special state funding
Located at the most visible and central site in Helsinki
Library ideology highly valued by decision makers
Living room and center for civic activities
Designed by the Finnish ALA architects
Opening 2018