Conference „Virtual Library“
In Brüssel 16th October 2002 Mr. Kari Lämsä
Cable Book LibraryHelsinki City Library, Finland
Lasipalatsi Film and Media Centre(Glass Palace)
• built in 1936• owned by the City of
Helsinki• renovated in 1998• funded by EU Urban
Pilot Project • about 1,5 million
visitors per year• 4500 m², about 20
leaseholders
•platform for new technological innovations
•meeting point of all kinds of people
• European cinema• Book on Demand• Helsinki Festival• TV studios• cafés, restaurants• multimedia shops
Culture and Entertainments
• cultural events• changing exhibitions
Information offices
• Youth Information Centre • Culture Info + tickets• Europe Information• Information for Swedish
speakers• Health and Social
Services Info• City Library• Information events like
”files open”
located in the heart of Helsinki, between railway and bus stations
lobby of the cinema
• there are many free touch screen Internet kiosks everywhere in the building
• kiosks are used always when the Glass Palace is open
• digital info-points• most information offices
have also public internet
Cable Book Library
• founded in 1994 at the old cable factory
• one of the 37 Helsinki City libraries
• specialized in Internet and IT services
• operated in Lasipalatsi since 1998
• 300 m² + lobby• opening hours Mon-Thu 10 -22,
Sat-Sun 12 – 18• staff 11 persons• customers over 1000 per day • selected collection• 120 magazines and
newspapers• 21 workstations for customers• furniture movable and easy to
convert• e-mail computers in the joint
lobby
when the library is closed, the lobby functions as the Glass Palace's joint common room
the lobby's furniture packed inside the library
• all furniture are equipped with wheels that can be locked• for two to three persons it takes about fifteen minutes to move
the furniture and start the computers
• the lobby ready, computer times will be given when the library opens• in magazine shelves of the lobby you will find newspapers and general
magazines
• the library is 60 metres long and five metres wide
• workstations are bounded by shelves to a separate area
• the use of mobile phones and noisy behaviour are forbidden at the workstations
• there is plenty of space for photos and other materials at the multimedia computers
• the building's conservation as a hindrance
Table elements can be connected in many ways, the elements are connected with quick latches
Staff
• Library Manager• IT Librarian• 3 IT Specialists• 3 Library Assistants• 2 Apprenticeship Students• 1 person undergoing non-
military service• students as covers
• the average age of the staff is about 35 years.
• work in three shifts• ”everybody does everything”• trains staff from other
libraries• participates in further
education and updating training plus various courses
• involved in many projects, e.g. internet
Collection
• non-fiction:– media– travel books– IT and Internet– film and photography– comics
• cd-rom• dvd• newspapers and
magazines• databases
Themes of the magazines:
• IT and internet• image processing and
publishing• media• film• photography• music• comics• travel• lifestyle magazines and
general magazines
Software and Equipments
• Windows, Macintosh and Linux
• Office• image processing• editing and publishing• slide scanners, photo
scanners and flatbed scanners
• greyscale and colour printers
• licenses for various databases, encyclopedias and dictionaries
• automatic deletion of temporary files and caches
• customers can also connect their own laptops to the library network
• the network is protected by a firewall and virus protection
• especially popular among students and freelancers
• wireless connection enables the use of internet even in the joint terrace of the library and the café
Customers
• 0ver 1000 customers per day• immigrants and foreigners 40 % • 16-30 age 60 % • percentage of females 40 %• percentage of students 40 % • groups learning to use Internet,
e.g. unemployed, adult students, immigrants
How often do you go to a library?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
daily oralmostdaily
1 to 2days aweek
2 to 3times amonth
aboutonce in a
month
less often
%
How important is the help of the staff in the use of workstations and web services?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
I manage onmy own
] I need helpsometimes
I need a lotof help
%
What did you come to do at the workstation?
1. to use e-mail 68%
2. to search information by search engines 50%
3. . to use services of the public administration 30%
4 to use word processing or spreadsheets 25%
5. to surf for fun or to use entertainment services 23%
6. to use library services 21%
7. to chat or to follow some discussion group or newsgroup
20%
8. to use services of the institutes of higher education/schools
18%
9. to get software and files 15%
10. to scan/edit photos/images 13%
12. to pay bills or to use other bank services 10%
13. to shop in a web store 4%
11.] to do something else 11%
Do you also use a computer in some other place than libraries?
1. at school or a place of study 40%
2. at friends or relatives 30%
3.at home, I don't have Internet connection 30%
4. at home, I have Internet connection 22%
5. at work 28%
6. at a cybercafé or a cyber kiosk 15%
7. at communal service center 5%
19 per cent of the respondents use a computer only at libraries.
Why to come?
• location easy to come, easy to stay
• free of chargespend time, no money
• activities cafes, clubs, films...
• Informationprinted, virtual, personal
• facilitiescomfortable, safe, well equipped
• staffcommunicative, helpful, skilful
Co-operation
• leaseholders of the Glass Palace have a co-operative group of their own
• Commercial partners in various projects and events, inter alia Nokia, Sony, Cisco…
• most important partners– The Youth Department of
City of Helsinki
– The Cultural Office of City of Helsinki
– The International Cultural Centre Caisa
Multicultural alliance
Info Bank for immigrants
• International Cultural Centre Caisa • Cultural Office of Helsinki City• Cable Book Library• Central Multilingual Library• Youth Information Centre• immigration offices and societies carrying out immigration and
multicultural work
Funded by the European Social FundProject Duration Time: 2002-2003
How to find, decode and act?
• editorial staff direct questions to the right institutions• questions and answers are stored to a database• frequently asked question will automatically be found in
database• The service will be carried out in all most used immigrant
languages
iGS is designed to be a movable information station in two parts; self service ”pumps” and a double-sided service unit. People can come to the station with their questions and problems or they can send questions to the station by email, SMS and chat.
iGS - Information Gas Station
Project
Funded by the Access to Learning Award (Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, 2000)
• total budget ~350 000 €• planning 10 %• device, furniture 20 %• staff 50 %• rents etc. 20%
Project Duration Time: 2001-2002
iGS: starting points
1. Promote information service
2. Modernize a public library’s image
3. Establish a place and premices for personal face to face service
4. Test mobility
Information service
Widen the range of ”librarish” information needs
Find new user groups– young– busy– others who normally cannot visit a library
Ask anything
Library’s image
A library without books– traditional image of a library: shelves, collections,
classifications– test: can we run a public library without books and
collections?
To advertise modern public libraries and make them visible– bright red design – ”silly” brand to be remembered
Personal Service
Self-service is the trend of today– lending, payment etc.
Everybody can search information?– all information by Google?
– we don’t need libraries in future?
Still need for information professionals– oversupply of information– licenced resources and databases– peoples’ routine ways on their information behaviour– demand for knowledge on possibilities and effective or many-sided ways of search–- public libraries’ task: to promote information literacy
Traditional model:– librarian is a gatekeeper
iGS model:– librarian is a consult– in learning and training
Customer have tos decide which information is relevant–->at every phase of search process (not only final results)
Mobility
Mobile service at virtual– customers information need arise ”on the road” and they
want to send questions from anywhere
Movable unit– we move along the road – to places we are needed
iGS on tour:– Lasipalatsi Film and Media Centre– Service Houses for Senior Citizens– Railwaystations– Fairs and exhibitions– Next shopping centers
iGS arrivals by lorry
Construct of two identic elements
Model of neon ligth from old Gas Station
In one hour construction is ready
Connection via cable, ADSL, WLAN
Helsinki Central Railway Station
• Media-happening, radio, TV, newspapers
• 30 visits/day, 20-25 virtual questions/ day
• Cold, windy, arctic and noicy
• Very rewarding and interesting
• no troubles with customers
Media profiles
Visits
1. Internet and email 24%
2. Software 13%
3. iGS 10%
4. Computers 5%
5. Helsinki 4%
6. Tourism 4%
N= 991
1. Music 7%
2. Transport 5%
3. Economy and business 4%
4. Writers, litterature 4%
5. Language and words 4%
6. Health, medicin 4 %
N=978
SMS
1. Music 6%
2. Transport 5%
3. Health 5%
4. Language and words 5%
5. Economy and business 4%
6. People 3%
N=623
Most popular categories in 2001
Conclusions
• Easy, quick ways for information services are needed • We did not know how people see library’s image and scope of
competence • Some questions could never have been made by the library desk• customers have different backgrounds
• what kind of information is most valuable for the customer: readymade facta or learning the ways how to mine and refine information?
• --> some need facta• --> some don’t have time to learn how to search
Team
• team of 10 persons chosen from the staff of City Library• 2 persons work at same time • rest of time they work on their own libraries, but can answer to
virtual questions• in the begining we arranged special training for them to update
their skills with digital and networked information search• experiences transfer in a natural way to the everyday life and
enrich their home libraries
Future
How may the next generation of iGS look like?– mobility: more easy to move– security: more safe– more compact -- modular structure– wireless connections (today not stable enough)
SMS protocol replaced by new – in future other mobile, portable and light devices– from short messages to multimedia messages
Useful links:
• Cable Book Libaryhttp://kirjakaapeli.lib.hel.fi/index-en.html
• Helsinki City Libraryhttp://www.lib.hel.fi/english/
• Lasipalatsi Media Centrehttp://www.lasipalatsi.fi/english/
• iGS – information Gas Stationhttp://igs.kirjastot.fi/index3.html
• Questionnaire Concerning the Use of Workstations http://www.lib.hel.fi/julkaisut/juna/english.htm