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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.
INTRODUCTION
There has been growing interest in library architecture in recent years.1 The study of library buildings and spaces has often been multidisciplinary in nature, covering the aesthetic, social, and cultural aspects of libraries. Nevertheless, the library as a building type remains a somewhat marginal research subject in the history of architecture. To some extent, the same can be said of library history, where other aspects of the institution have tended to dominate.2
The aim of this article is to present an analysis of the history of public library buildings in Finland from 1945 to the present, by examining Finnish architectural and librarianship discourses on the subjects of library planning and design.3 Two journals were chosen as the main research material: Arkkitehti (The Finnish Architectural Review), the main national publication for Finnish architects, and Kirjastolehti (The Finnish Library Journal), the major publication for Finnish librarians. In this article the official English titles of the journals will be used henceforth: The Finnish Architectural Review and The Finnish Library Journal. These two journals were chosen as they represent the differing interests of two groups of professionals that have played an essential, if diverse, role in the process of planning public libraries in Finland since World War II.
As Finland is sparsely populated (the population is currently about five and a half million), The Finnish Architectural Review...