Helsinki Central Library Oodi chosen as the best new public library in the world

The annually presented Public Library of the Year award is presented to a public library that is either newly built or set up in premises not previously used for library purposes. This year, a total of 16 libraries from all over the world applied to be considered for this award. The other libraries that made it to the final were Green Square Library and Plaza in Australia, Bibliotheek LocHal in the Netherlands and Tūranga – Christchurch Central Library in New Zealand. The award’s sponsor, IT company Systematic, awarded USD 5,000 to Oodi.

‘Oodi was designed together with customers for a long period of time. We received more than 2,000 ideas from customers to serve as the basis of the architectural competition. ALA Architects designed an amazing and unique building that takes all the elements most desired by customers into account. The customers immediately made Oodi their own, which is our greatest success. The Public Library of the Year award tells us that the world has also taken notice of this,’ rejoices Director of Oodi Anna-Maria Soininvaara.

Read more:
IFLA: ”And the nominees for the 2019 IFLA/Systematic Public Library of the Year Award are…”
Read more about the nominees in IFLA Public Libraries Section -blog >