Helsinki Central Library has to widen doors

The Award winning Helsinki Central Library, or Oodi as it is named, is going to close its main doors starting next Monday for several months. Other doors will remain open, media reported on Friday.

The reason is not any lack of customers, but rather the insufficient capacity of the original doors. Local media reported that the replacement of the doors was triggered by citizens' complaints.

Oodi was opened late last year and during the first six months over two million people visited the building. The revolving doors chosen by the architects turned out to be an obstacle and the city of Helsinki will now replace them with three normal doors.

Oodi was chosen this week as the "Public Library of the Year" by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Oodi is owned by the City of Helsinki and operates on the basis of the free-of-charge Finnish public library concept. Besides the traditional library services, the building offers digital and workshop services including music studios and film editing facilities. It houses also cinema as well as space for studying and working.