Tutkain – Finnish newspapers and magazines available online for research use

Professor Cecilia af Forselles, national librarian of the National Library of Finland, is pleased about the new research opportunities the agreement provides: “Researchers will gain access to socially significant and extensive material. Newspaper material is used broadly in various types of research, and the new service will further increase the research impact of such material, reaching researchers in Finland and beyond.”

Thanks to the Tutkain project, researchers will be able to use Finnish newspapers and magazines from 1930–2018 digitised by the National Library, regardless of time or place. The project includes 15 Finnish higher education institutions, which can give users access through the Haka authentication system to the National Library’s digital newspaper and magazine material for research purposes. The agreement also allows machine-based browsing, searching, investigation and analysis of the material.

The National Library of Finland and Kopiosto have agreed on the right to provide the newspapers and magazines included in the former’s collections for research use through the digi.kansalliskirjasto.fi service as part of the Tutkain project in 2020–2022.

“We are glad that we can do our part to help open up newspaper and magazine archives for more extensive research use,” says CEO Valtteri Niiranen of Kopiosto. “We will also ensure that the editors and publishers of newspapers and magazines receive the royalties due to them for the use of their work.”

Research use here refers to non-commercial scientific or artistic research, reports, theses or final projects completed by students, researchers and other members of teaching and research staff at Finnish higher education institutions participating in Tutkain.