Helsinki City Library will adopt the Finnish Public Libraries Classification System, which is used by all other public libraries in Finland. Until now, Helsinki has used its own classification system. The City will now join the Finnish Public Libraries Classification System, which makes cooperation between Helmet libraries and other municipalities even smoother.
For customers, the change will be seen first and foremost as an improvement in the ease of use of the library. In the future, materials will be available on the same shelf in Helsinki and elsewhere in Finland. New books will also become available to Helmet library users more quickly, as the entire area will be using the same classification system.
"Helsinki developed its own classification system in the 1940s. Now, using a harmonised system, cooperation with the Finnish library sector and the entire publishing ecosystem is even easier," says Head of Unit Virva Nousiainen-Hiiri from the City of Helsinki Library Network Shared Services Unit.
Young residents of Helsinki involved in the labelling campaign
In practice, the classification change means that around 650,000 books and other material will receive a new label indicating the category to which the work belongs. However, not all material in the library needs to be re-labelled, as classification labels are not attached to e.g. Finnish and Swedish narrative fiction. The project covers classifications such as non-fiction, poetry, comics, music and foreign language literature.
The classification change will also affect the place of works on the shelves. The library's shelves will be reorganised according to the new classification system and some material will be moved to new shelf locations. During the work, customers may find it difficult to find books in the new location and receiving reservations may take longer than usual. During the transitional stage, libraries will have items under both the old and the new classification.
"The staff are there to help customers with the change. Let's learn new things together – customers and staff side by side. The change has been carefully planned, and I think everything will go smoothly," says Project Planner Samu Eeve.
To help library staff in the labelling work, Helsinki City Library will use the Treamer app to hire 25 young people aged 15–17 from Helsinki. The work will start in October 2025 and continue until spring 2026, when most of the material will have been labelled and the shelves will have been reorganised to match the new system.
When the project is completed in spring 2026, Helsinki's libraries will function as part of the shared public library system in Finland. The change will make library use smoother and strengthen Helsinki's position as part of the Finnish library network.
