Libraries Without Walls: Information Technology in Finnish Public Libraries from the 1970s to the 1990s

Abstract

Presents a short history of how information technology was introduced into Finnish public libraries from the 1970s to the 1990s. The period can be divided into five phases: off-line lending systems; online lending systems; integrated library systems and database searching; the birth of the national library database services; and the era of the Internet and the development of the digital library. Major sources used were the results of a postal questionnaire distributed to public libraries by the author in 2004 and articles and reports in 'Kirjastolehti' (the 'Finnish Library Journal').