Public Library Buildings in Finland: An Analysis of the Architectural and Librarianship Discourses from 1945 to the Present

Mehtonen, Pentti

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/31865 Copy

Description

Title

Public Library Buildings in Finland: An Analysis of the Architectural and Librarianship Discourses from 1945 to the Present

Author(s)

Mehtonen, Pentti

Issue Date

2011

Keyword(s)

Library design

Abstract

The history of public library buildings in Finland from 1945 to the present is analyzed by examining the Finnish architectural and librarianship discourses on library planning and design. Two Finnish journals were chosen as the main research material: Arkkitehti, the main national publication for Finnish architects, and Kirjastolehti, the major publication for Finnish librarians. The key historical features of the architectural and librarianship discourses are presented within the wider context. A closer analysis of five representative library buildings is also presented. The specific architectural discourse on library design is found to have been largely determined by the changes in the Finnish architectural discourse in general; the representational conventions of a genre determined the way the library buildings were presented. The practical demands of library work have largely guided the Finnish librarianship discourse on library planning and design, but in many cases the discussion was also more progressive and future-oriented.

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

ISSN

0024-2594

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/31865

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2011.0026

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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