Development of collections

The collection of the National Library of Finland forms a research infrastructure focusing on cultural and social studies.  The National Library of Finland offers materials both for the scientific community as well as other parties with information needs. The National Collection is accrued and preserved in accordance with the principles listed in the Act on Collecting and Preserving Cultural Materials (Laki kulttuuriaineistojen tallettamisesta ja säilyttämisestä1433/2007). Other collections of the library will be accrued, evaluated and preserved based on research needs.

The National Library of Finland’s collection accrues through deposit copies, acquisitions, publication exchange, submissions and donations.

National Library of Finland Collections Policy (Doria.fi)

Acquisitions Programme 2021-2024 (Doria.fi)

Further information:

The statutory duty of the National Library of Finland is to preserve priceless national, published cultural heritage materials permanently. We preserve and offer materials for research use as authentic sources of information. The essential goals of our preservation operations are to prevent damage and to recognise and manage risks.

We store the materials in the appropriate environment to ensure their preservation. We instruct customers on the correct handling of the materials and release materials for customer use in a controlled manner so as not to endanger their preservation. We also provide replacement copies.

Preservation Policy Of The National Library Of Finland 2009 (Doria.fi)

Through long-term digitising operations, we create critical mass for research and public use. We promote digitising and, through it, the visibility, equal availability and usability of our unique collections.­

High-quality metadata ensures the reuse and long-term preservation of digital materials. We produce descriptive metadata for analogous materials in accordance with international standards.  In addition to the technical quality of scanning, in digitising we ensure the existence of extensive technical and administrative metadata.

We make our digital collections as widely accessible as possible through viewing and search systems. Digital collections promote, in particular, new kind of research, teaching, public use of materials and creative operations. We make digitised, copyrighted materials available for use through various agreements.

The digitisation policy of the National Library of Finland 2010 (Doria.fi)

The National Library of Finland is an open organisation that plans its operations together with its key stakeholders. Openness builds trust.

The openness of resources and services means that customers have better access to them and they have a greater social impact.

1. The National Library promotes open science and open access to the cultural heritage.
2. The National Library develops open services.
3. The National Library plans and develops services together with customers and partners.
4. The National Library integrates its open services into national and international infrastructures and services.
5. The National Library prepares its strategy and key operational policies together with its key stakeholders.
6. The National Library promotes knowledge sharing, shares its knowledge and learns from others.
7. The National Library influences the development of legislation by extensively supporting open access to resources and services.
8. The National Library aims to ensure maximum access to resources in its agreements.