{"id":37,"date":"2026-07-24T22:14:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/?p=37"},"modified":"2026-07-24T22:14:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:14:54","slug":"reflection-blog-wild-card-participatory-services-the-oodi-library-an-ode-to-its-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/2026\/07\/24\/reflection-blog-wild-card-participatory-services-the-oodi-library-an-ode-to-its-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection Blog: Wild Card\/Participatory Services: The Oodi Library, an Ode to Its Users"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of us now watch multiple videos everyday. Many of these just pass and go, we sometimes forget them after a few days. One that I watched about six weeks ago and that stuck with me since then was the one presenting <\/span>the Oodi library <\/span><\/a>in Helsinki, Finland: \u201cIs this the best library?\u201d. That is what I clearly wondered as I watched it and I have not found a match yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Finnish, \u201coodi\u201d is an ode. And maybe just as interestingly, in Norwegian, \u201codde\u201d is a headland. A tribute and a pioneer vision. This is all really quite fitting for this extraordinary library.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Figure 1.Oodi Library<\/span><\/i>. From “Is this the world\u2019s most successful human-centered building?,” by T. Uusheimo, <\/span>Well-Placed with Emily Wright<\/span><\/i>. Retrieved July 24, 2026, from <\/span>https:\/\/emilywrights.substack.com\/p\/is-this-the-worlds-most-successful<\/span><\/a>. Copyright 2026 by Substack.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Figure 2. Sydney Heads, New South Wales, Australia<\/span><\/i>. From “Headland,” by D. Smith, September 30, 2010, <\/span>Wikipedia<\/span><\/i>. Retrieved July 24, 2026, from <\/span>https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Headland<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Oodi library is an absolutely amazing and wonderful example to show to someone who is a bit stuck in their vision of what a library is (aka who thinks that a library is not much more than a pretty book warehouse). To be honest, even I, when I started this program, had no clue of what everything libraries now offered. That video grabbed that thought and just ran away with it \u2026 all the way to Helsinki!\u00a0<\/span>The video shows us the vast array of activities and services that are available to its users: chessboards at the entrance to play with a stranger and thus encourage human interaction, the most vintage and also modern video games available on simple reservation, instruments and recording studio rental, a very large kitchen, sewing machines and various crafts instruments, 3D printers, a variety of reading areas with views, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is evident that this library really thinks about its whole community, about the personal situations that people may be in that may make some aspects of their lives difficult (especially aspects that allow them to learn or flourish). They help with that. They support them in their economical situation. They support them in their social well-being.\u00a0<\/span>The example of the kitchen can seem so simple and yet so thoughtful. In a big city, many people live with roommates or have a small apartment, there can be no sufficient kitchen space to be able to cook a big meal or to cook with friends. Nonetheless, cooking and food can be such an exchange of cultures and knowledge, it brings people together. By having a large accommodating kitchen, the library shows how they try to bring people together around things they enjoy and can grow from. Another subtle but powerful example of how Oodi was thinking of its patrons are the reading areas. There are many comfortable seats near windows to enjoy the views. Again, this can look simple but is such a nice touch for people living in small spaces with views of a parking lot or sometimes even a wall. They literally broaden their horizons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens asserts that \u201cthe era of participatory culture demands that cultural and information professionals play an active, visible role in our communities\u201d (2016, p.80). <\/span>I agree and I would claim that the Oodi library really gives the participatory tenet of Casey’s (2007) Library 2.0\u00a0 its true meaning: people are not just meant to read or look at materials, but really to use them and create and experiment with them. In this, they participate in the growing knowledge, culture and creativity of their community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0\u202f: a guide to participatory library service. Information Today. http:\/\/site.ebrary.com\/id\/10502034<\/p>\n

Headland. (2026, April 21). In <\/span>Wikipedia<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Headland<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Stephens, M. (2016). <\/span>The Heart of Librarianship<\/span><\/i>. American Library Association.<\/span><\/p>\n

TheRuudy. (2022, December 13).<\/span> Is This The World\u2019s Best Library?<\/span><\/i> [Video]. YouTube. <\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wvyXjAI5_VI<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wright, E. (2024, August 8). Is this the world’s most successful human-centred building? <\/span>Well-Placed with Emily Wright<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/emilywrights.substack.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most of us now watch multiple videos everyday. Many of these just pass and go, we sometimes forget them after a few days. One that I watched about six weeks ago and that stuck with me since then was the one presenting the Oodi library in Helsinki, Finland: \u201cIs this the best library?\u201d. That is … Continue reading Reflection Blog: Wild Card\/Participatory Services: The Oodi Library, an Ode to Its Users<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":857,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/857"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/39"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}