Encounters with legal deposit materials: the national conference of legal deposit libraries was held in Turku
The national conference of legal deposit libraries was held in Turku on 12-13 November 2024. The conference was attended by more than 50 library professionals from Finnish legal deposit libraries. The conference was organized by Turku University Library together with the National Library of Finland.
The conference, called Legal Deposit Library Day, is held once a year. The aim of the conference is to bring together library professionals working with legal deposit materials. The program includes presentations on legal deposit materials, informal discussions and networking. This year it was our turn to co-organize the event with the National Library.
The event expanded to two days
What was previously a one-day event was expanded to a two-day event. We wanted to offer the opportunity to get to know the ephemera in Raisio’s Newspaper and Ephemera Services, including board games and posters, as well as newspapers. In order not to take up too much of the day's schedule, we decided to offer the tour on the previous day.
Tuesday's tour was attended by an enthusiastic crowd. Although the materials were familiar to most of the participants, they didn’t work on them on a daily basis.
According to the Cultural Materials Act, ephemera is only available at Turku University Library and the National Library. There was a lively discussion on the conditions of storage, shelving and other issues that concern all the legal deposit libraries.
More than 50 people met in the Feeniks Library and online
Wednesday's program was open to on-site and remote participation. All the legal deposit libraries in Finland were present: National Library, the libraries of Åbo Akademi, University of Oulu, University of Jyväskylä and, remotely, the library of the University of Eastern Finland. The Library of Parlament was also represented. Almost 30 of the participants came to the Feeniks Library - a total of over 50 people!
The day started with an opening speech by Library Director Heli Kautonen on the importance of legal deposit materials and the work being done for them. Describing the threats to our collections, from paper jams and wars to human indifference, she highlighted the many forms and dimensions of our work.
In a presentation by the Turku University Library, we talked about our organization and how we have organized the legal deposit sector over the last 100 years and what the current situation is.
The National Library gave an update on digitized materials and the cultural material workstations, and presented its plans for the coming year.
Towards closer cooperation
The morning session focused on the marketing of digitized cultural materials. There was a common view that the materials produced by the National Library are desirable, but it also is important for the other libraries to be involved in the planning phase.
The afternoon workshop focused on creating common practices for various situations and requests regarding collections and situations. Cooperation was sought to prevent overlapping tasks. The possibility of a small working group on this very subject was discussed.
At the end of the day, it was time for the books and other prints of legal deposit collection. The tour went around the Feeniks Library and the Aurum warehouses where books, magazines and sheet music are stored.
According to the feedback the conference was interesting, the event was a success and there is a need for further joint gatherings. While electronic tools are valuable for day-to-day communication, face-to-face meetings create opportunities for deeper collaboration and new openings.
Already excited to see where we’ll meet next year!
More information
A video of Raisio (Youtube)