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A young woman borrows books at a lending machine.
Tomi Hirvinen

Using the library

The library offers books, newspapers, magazines, audio-visual material, databases and internet access free of charge. You can always ask the staff for help with searching for information or using the library services.

The library adheres to user guidelines. You receive a library card when you register as a user and commit to following user guidelines. Your library card is personal. You are held accountable for all material checked out with your card.

You must return your borrowed items by the due date. Late fees start to accumulate the day after the due date. Please contact the library immediately if the overdue notice is unclear. We’ll sort it out together!

Renew your loans

  • by visiting the library and showing your library card
  • by calling 040 806 5124
  • online at the Anders web library. To do this you need the serial number on your library card and a four digit PIN code. You receive a PIN code by visiting the library and showing your ID. PIN codes are not given out by phone or email.

Reserving material

You can reserve material regardless if it is currently checked out or not. You can make a reservation at the library or through the Anders web library. To use the web library you need a library card and a four digit PIN code.

You receive a notification by text, email or letter when your reserved material is available for pick up at the library. You can choose in which of these ways you want to be notified.

Your reservation notice says where you can collect your reserved material. The last holding date is also specified. At the Kokkola City Library and Koivuhaka and Lohtaja library you will find your reservations at the self-service reservation. In other libraries, you can collect and borrow your reserved material from the service desk. All interlibrary loans are handled at the service desk.

Collect reservations at Kokkola City Library and Koivuhaka and Lohtaja library

  • The material is marked with a slip of paper with a reservation number. This is the same number you received in your reservation notice by text, email or letter. Your reservation number is personal and always the same.
  • Books are arranged according to reservation numbers.
  • When you find your reserved material, borrow it at the self-service automat or at the service desk. You cannot borrow material that is reserved for someone else.

Spending time at the library

The library is open for all. If you disturb other library users by being too loud or if you damage library property, the staff can ask you to leave the library premises.

  • The library offers a wireless internet connection. Log onto Kirjasto_wlan to use your own device on the library premises. The password for the Wi-Fi network is available at these libraries.

    This is not a secure network, so be sure to maintain good data security.

  • All libraries have computers for customers to use free of charge. Should a customer cause a disturbance, the staff has the right to ask the customer in question to leave.

    If you need help with using the equipment, printing or scanning, the staff is happy to guide you. We can also help you access the internet, find any website you are looking for and with other general things. However, we cannot help you with banking or governmental issues, or anything that reveals private information on screen. We cannot show you how to use or install personal devices and apps, except for showing you how to use services that the library offers.

    Computer booking in Kokkola City Library

  • The magazine and newspaper room at the Kokkola City Library, and the Kälviä, Lohtaja and Koivuhaka libraries have self-service hours when the library is otherwise closed. If you are registered as a self-service user, you can use the library from 8-21 on weekdays (Koivuhaka 8-20) and from 8-18 on weekends and holidays (Koivuhaka 8-15).

    Regular guidelines apply during self-service hours. Don’t disturb the other customers and don’t make a mess. The library has camera surveillance.

  • Returning material through the book drop is at your own risk. You do not receive a receipt for material returned through the book drop, since it is not yet returned through the library data system. The material is returned the following day the library is open. Late fees accumulate until the material is registered in the library data system as returned.

  • Please notify the library if your home address changes. You can do so at the service desk, by sending us an email at kokkolan.kirjasto@kokkola.fi, or by logging in to the web library and updating your contact information. Our system is not connected to the post office or population data agency and does not automatically update.

  • The Multilingual library offers everyone in Finland the chance to read in their mother tongue. The Multilingual library collection is in the Helsinki City Library, but you can ask your local library for a free interlibrary loan.

    https://haku.helmet.fi/iii/encore/home?lang=eng&suite=cobalt&advancedSearch=true&searchString=&advancedSearch=true

  • Register to get interlibrary loans in Russian!

    You can borrow books, films and audio material from the Russian library in Helsinki free of charge. This service is available if you live in Finland, outside of the Helsinki metropolitan area. For more information, see this video from Kirjastokaista (in Russian).

    Межбиблиотечный абонемент Русскоязычной библиотеки!

    ДЛЯ КОГО: Для всех, кто живёт в Финляндии за пределами Столичного региона и хочет брать на дом книги, фильмы или аудиокниги на русском языке, имеющиеся в фондах Русскоязычной библиотеки.

  • The Ask a Librarian service is the free online reference service of the Finnish libraries. There are more than 70 libraries, both public and special libraries, answering your questions.