Case studies   Finland

Tampere Public Library 

Tampere, founded in 1779, is two hours north of Helsinki. It is the second largest urban

area in Finland, with the greater Tampere region having a population of 300,000. There

are two universities, two polytechnics and three technical centres. It is a centre of cul 

ture, education and knowledge intensive businesses. It is also the home of Nokia, 

Finland s largest company.

With the collapse of the textile and metals industries over the past two decades, a

need was recognised for new employment schemes and strategies. The eTampere 

program aims to make Tampere a global leader in information society development by

strengthening the knowledge base, generating new business and creating new public

online services that are available to all. The eTampere program is an extensive 

collaborative project to which the local educational and research institutes, businesses,

organisations and communities contribute their own expertise and input. 

The eTampere program consists of six sub programs:

  the e business research centre (eBRC),

  the Information Society Institute (ISI),

  the Research and Evaluation Laboratory (RELab),

  the eAccelerator, 

  technology engine programs, 

  Infocity.

They are coordinated by the eTampere office. 

Infocity

The Infocity program aims to make Tampere a model city in the development towards

the information society. This goal will be achieved when all city services are available on

the Web and are actively used by all residents. It is this sub program that the Tampere

Library is most involved in. 62 percent of Tampere residents have used the Internet, and

77 percent of these have visited the City of Tampere website. The most popular services

include library material reservations, bus schedules, event calendars, maps, special lists,

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