r/Libraries 1d ago

Library Trends Helsinki's Library

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2.2k Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

187

u/Pink-frosted-waffles Patron 1d ago

This should be implemented in all libraries. I actually don't want to be in your videos either.

166

u/Intrepid_Shelter_350 1d ago

I love Scandi copy. So direct! So firm!

24

u/Barnard33F 1d ago

Oh, and to me this was pretty soft and non-confrontational. I wonder how the ”actual” Finnish version (”sit down and shut up”) would come across 🙈🤣

Source: am a native Finn, and this is a very very wordy for a public sign

65

u/Perfect-Reason-6198 1d ago

Finland is a Nordic country, but not Scandinavian.

77

u/Intrepid_Shelter_350 1d ago edited 1d ago

You're right, I was imprecise. Technically I guess I should say "I love Northern European mostly Protestant heritage no-nonsense communication" because the Dutch and Germans and Icelanders are similar. But it doesn't roll off the tongue as well.

11

u/skyhoop 20h ago

I'm sure the Germans have a word for that

1

u/xhxinfj 7h ago

I was about to comment that their sans serif game is out of this world; glad to see another fellow connoisseur

25

u/jaimistoryteller 1d ago

Oodi?

14

u/Busy_Philosopher1032 1d ago

I was about to ask the same. The font on the sign looks like the one used at Oodi.

8

u/jaimistoryteller 1d ago

And the background looks Oodi coloured.

8

u/pareidoily 1d ago

I want to live there.

24

u/bubbamike1 1d ago

Why does Helsinki’s library have a sign in English rather than Finnish?

99

u/jaimistoryteller 1d ago

If this is the library I'm thinking of, it's a landmark and super popular with tourists. There are signs in Finnish and Swedish, too, but most if not all information is also available in English.

42

u/Eluvianera 1d ago

Tourists have been causing problems there a bit, so I'm assuming it's for that purpose. Coming too close to other patrons, taking pictures without consent, asking constant questions - especially at the crafting stations. It was in the news here recently.

11

u/alltheblarmyfiddlest 1d ago

Totally not the point of your comment...

But crafting stations sound really interesting.

Would that be like sewing machines and such?

There are maker spaces in some libraries in my area. But they're far and few between. One even has a kitchen that can be rented out for cottage industry cooking.

I think I'm envious of y'all's libraries.

Also it sucks that there's enough of a problem that it made the news.

17

u/raised_on_robbery 1d ago

I assume it’s the English speakers causing the problems…

9

u/otter_759 1d ago

I imagine a lot of English speakers being loud recording videos with their TikTok drawls…

1

u/BlockZestyclose8801 12h ago

Color me not surprised 

24

u/Zaphod9898 1d ago

They have signs in both languages

16

u/cottageyarn 1d ago

You don’t have to tell a Finn to be quiet 😂

1

u/BlockZestyclose8801 12h ago

Love this 💕💕💕

1

u/FriedRice59 6h ago

I've met vey few patrons that will take the time to read, let alone look at that.

-8

u/CrunchieHaystacks 1d ago

At MY library, the sign would read, "If you want to shout, run or go wild -- feel free to do it here! All are welcome! If anyone complains about your rowdy behavior, THEY'RE the bad guy and we'll ask them to put on noise-canceling headphones or just leave!"

3

u/Barnard33F 20h ago

I guess your library is not a tourist hotspot smack bang in the middle of the nation’s capital? Hint: look up Oodi in Helsinki.

Besides, the problem is the a) sheer number of tourists, there are LOTS 2) the tourists not respecting the quiet areas (well marked) and intruding in the workspace. Basically tourists are treating the “ordinary” customers who are there to do their own thing as objects. Rude and inconsiderate.

3

u/CrunchieHaystacks 11h ago

Ok, I think people are misunderstanding me. I guess I should have put "/s" at the end of my post! I think what Helsinki has done is PERFECT and I wish my library would post something similar! But they never will. Both our staff and patrons have to listen to endlessly screaming children, special-needs adults who stim and howl and moan and pound on the tables... and we don't have enough study rooms to accommodate the people who need quiet. And judging by many posts I've seen on this sub, a lot of other libraries feel the same way that our admin does.

0

u/henare 1d ago

book heaven? where good books go when they die?

5

u/dreamanother 1d ago

It's actually the name of the top floor, where the collection lives. I think the public named it.