The National Repository Library of Finland

Abstract

The National Repository Library of Finland was founded in 1989 as a means of providing the most economical way of storing library material for all libraries in Finland. It also acts as a connecting link in the country's library network and a centre for interlending. The paper describes the cost savings that have been achieved (€3.5 million annually) by the use of this central facility. Interlibrary loan requests are processed within 24 hours of receipt. Physical copies are mailed to user libraries, and periodical articles are scanned and despatched electronically. Fulfilling an important function in national collection policy, the National Repository Library has allowed other libraries to concentrate on maintaining active local collections, in the knowledge that research material sent to the Repository Library can be made available to them quickly and efficiently. As repositories acquire more and more material they become print resources on a regional or national scale, leading to the possibility that in time they might come together in a network to create a Universal Repository Library.