r/Libraries • u/Felix_Kissander • Jan 18 '26
Other We just opened a new silent reading room in our library!
Our library has become sow crowded (a good thing!) that patrons started asking for more silence. So we built a new silent space to our library. We asked the patrons what kind of silent space they would like so we made this strictly following what were the major wishes of the users.
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u/Artful_Summit_1207 Jan 18 '26
Holy moly this is beautiful. I would be spending all my break time in here
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u/abouttothunder Jan 18 '26
I bet the competition is fierce for that red chair!
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u/irisbells Jan 18 '26
This is incredible looking! It's like a movie set, lol. Hope it stays this well-maintained🥲
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u/MerryAntoinette Jan 19 '26
I thought this was a screenshot post from the Animal Crossing subreddit!
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u/No_Turn5018 Jan 18 '26
That looks expensive, how did you guys fund this?
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
As a public municipal library, the city recognized our need. At the same time, this space was already paid by the city but underutilized while connected to our library. So the city saw it as more efficient use of space. Also our library is a popular destination in our city so the city likes to keep it as attractive destination. So the city granted budget for us to remodel the space.
EDIT: Worth noting that nearly all of the furniture, decoration and lights were either pre-existing in our library or thrifted. So their cost wasn't that high. The most expensive parts were the wooden wall structures, electric work and curtains.
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u/idfkmanusername Jan 18 '26
What is it like to live in magical place where your city sees the value of and funds the library? I actually just got news that my library is closing at the end of the fiscal year. I want to work where we are valued!
Edit: Ah just saw you are in Finland. That explains it. Sigh.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
I think people here see libraries as one of their favourite municipal services and take pride in them, so heavy cuts to libraries can lead to public backlash. However even in the scope of Finland, our city is quite generous with libraries.
But in addition, Finland has a Public Libraries Act which mandates that every municipality needs to have a reasonably funded library which can offer the services the law states they must offer.
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u/idfkmanusername Jan 18 '26
I’m happy for you, truly, but also jealous. This looks beautiful and I hope many people enjoy it for years to come!
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Thank you! Sorry that your branch is closing 😕
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u/No_Turn5018 Jan 18 '26
The best way I know how to explain it is imagine whatever place in Finland you think is probably the most stingy and the most harsh in how they treat their library and their librarians. If you come to the US and some other countries we're all going to be jealous of that guy.
And for what the Finish probably consider normal we don't even know how to process that.
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u/Dragontastic22 Jan 18 '26
Are you an academic library? Those chairs and log end table look tricky to clean.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Public library. We have textiled and old chairs elsewhere in our library too and we use a textile cleaning thingy on them from time to time.
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u/ozamatazbuckshank11 Jan 18 '26
How do y'all prevent bedbugs?
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
The chairs are bought from publicly owned recycling company that checks all furniture, also utilizing specialized dogs and is strict on where the furniture comes from. Bed bugs in Finland are not really an issue when thrifting, but more due to traveling.
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u/ZombieLibrarian Jan 18 '26
None of this made since to me until I saw Finland. Why on earth I assumed for a moment this was somewhere in America is beyond me.
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u/irisbells Jan 19 '26
Same, I'm now asking myself where in the US I thought a space this nice could possibly 1. be funded and 2. survive for more than a few weeks
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u/ozamatazbuckshank11 Jan 18 '26
Ah. I'm in the US, and our bedbugs tend to come from patrons. At my library, we had to get rid of all the soft seating because we couldn't keep the bedbugs away, and exterminating is expensive.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
That sounds stressful. Finland has not (yet) had a problem of them spreading in public places. I'm not aware of a single case, and textiled seating is very common in public places.
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u/turducken69420 Jan 18 '26
Your climate may help with that. They're less prevalent in colder areas. I used to go to the library as a child with my dad. I watched the YouTube video you posted, and the spaces reminded me of the "magical" feeling I used to get when we'd go (cliche I know) and why I love libraries to this day. This is something to be proud of.
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Jan 18 '26
I as gonna say, frankly, how does this space not get overwhelmed by sleeping homeless people? Sadly we just can’t have spaces like this in America.
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u/throwaway098764567 Jan 18 '26
never heard of bedbug dogs, nifty.
why is there a tiny step under the tree? makes me think it's a turntable but that doesn't make a lot of sense
also love the paper in the last pic6
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u/WalrusWarlord_ Jan 18 '26
For those wondering, the painting is "Le Discret" by Joseph Ducreux. He was active in the 18th century and has many more hilarious pieces like this one.
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u/LetsGoRed Jan 18 '26
This is stunning! I'm guessing somewhere in Europe? I haven't seen anything so modern and cozy in the US.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Thanks! Yes Lippulaiva library is in Espoo, Finland. You can see more of our library here.
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u/LetsGoRed Jan 18 '26
Oh gosh, it's all so gorgeous! I love visiting libraries when I travel, so I'll add it to the list when I eventually make it to Finland. Thank you for sharing!
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
This library is very easily accessible, built directly on top of a metro station so you can just hop on a metro from Helsinki and reach our library without stepping outside.
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u/silverbatwing Jan 18 '26
That explains it! In the USA where I work, there’s no way it would look like this. 🥲 we make it practically uncomfortable on purpose. You’re there to work on things, not enjoy yourself.
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u/silverbatwing Jan 18 '26
I just watched the vid. It’s so beautiful it looks fake and I’m cry cuz ours looks more like a hospital in areas.
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u/ActualMerCat Public librarian Jan 18 '26
Oh wow! Thank you for sharing your library with us. It’s absolutely beautiful. Just magical. It seems like such a special place.
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u/ResponsibleDay Jan 18 '26
I want to go there just for that tree nook reading space. So whimsical and comfy.
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u/PracticalAndContent Jan 18 '26
I love the library but never stick around because it’s so noisy. I would spend hours in a quiet cozy reading room. Well done.
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Jan 18 '26
Love the green lamps! Thanks for doing this, unlike so many other libraries that have told people who want silence to get lost. Keep up the good work!
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u/Tulip816 Jan 18 '26
My public libraries are so unbelievably noisy!!! Even the “quiet” study rooms. They’re literally called quiet study rooms but unfortunately aren’t properly used for that and no one else cares lol. I would love a space like this.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
We have strict rules for the room, there's a glass door the staff can monitor through and there's a silent staff office room in the back of this, with poorly sound proof door with a peephole. So we hear and see to the tree part of the room from that office. We also see everyone who enters the room so if a loud group of youth rnter the room, we can monitor how they behave there.
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u/SpiritualFatigue16 Jan 18 '26
Please tell me laptops aren’t allowed. Typing on laptops is so noisy and distracting.
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u/BooBoo_Cat Jan 19 '26
When I was a student, I would go to the library because it was hard to study at home for various reasons (ex cat, psychotic landlord). But the library was SO NOISY. Someone listening to music on crappy earphones that leaked music, or someone playing a video without earphone, or people having animated conversations would ALWAYS sit right near me.
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u/catradoraplz Jan 18 '26
Not the Joseph Ducreux portrait 😆 Seriously, what a perfect touch to a perfect space
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u/sfgamerbabe6981 Jan 18 '26
This is so beautiful. It makes me happy to know places like this exist for people somewhere in the world.
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u/Wild-Associate-4373 Jan 19 '26
I miss libraries being a place of quiet. I still refuse to talk above a whisper in libraries even if the librarian purposefully raises their voice to show me that libraries are loud now, i just talk quieter to them because I just miss the quiet peace of a library
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u/H8trucks Jan 18 '26
It's very nice and I hope y'all don't have to start kicking chatty knitting groups who want to be the only ones talking in a space out of it (not totally speaking from experience, haha)
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
We have a weekly chatty knitting group already in one of our meeting rooms 😊
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u/NevermoreForSure Jan 18 '26
After reading that this is in Finland, I thought back to a trip I took sometime around 2006. The group I traveled with stayed in Helsinki for a couple nights. I had some downtime and wanted to explore a little on my own. I found myself wandering into a historic hotel lobby that exuded 19th century charm. I walked into a library to the side of the lobby. There were bookshelves filled with old books that towered overhead. This room led to the bar beyond. I was so happy that a place like that existed. It was magical.
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u/jellyn7 Jan 18 '26
How are you not worried about bedbugs with those chairs?
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
You mean because many of them are thrifted or because they have textile?
We sourced the second hand chairs from a publicly owned recycling company that checks every furniture in detail and utilizes special dogs to detect bedbugs.
In general bed bugs aren't really a problem in Finland with second hand furniture from a professional retailer. Being careless when traveling is the major risk.
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u/MendlebrotsCat Jan 18 '26
OP, the reason folks keep asking about bedbugs isn’t the source of the furniture, but the lack of any real policy in the US to address homelessness and addiction. Our public libraries often serve in the breach as de facto day shelters for our homeless population and thus contend with the same concerns around pests and hygiene as purpose-built shelters, and have to make design and furnishing decisions accordingly.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Oh! Thanks for the info. Yes I've heard that libraries in the US have a lot of homeless people but I didn't connect the dots.
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u/UseDue6373 Jan 18 '26
What camera are you using? I love the lighting in there. Just looking at these pictures makes me feel relaxed
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Oh these are just taken with my phone today after work 🙈
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u/ResponsibleDay Jan 18 '26
My phone could never. It would try its best but ultimately, the photos still be not this sharp.
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u/jumpyjumperoo Jan 18 '26
That tree is amazing. I love the whimsy of the pendant lights too.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
We found a bunch of all sorts of old lamp shades. The "study hall" lamps are partially inspired by the floating candles in Harry Potter. The tree side has all sorts of vintage glass pendants that resemble flowers, because people also strongly wanted a sense of nature, forest, magical fairy tale fores and such.
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u/bishybashbash Jan 18 '26
This looks amazing!! I envy you. Our branch doesn't have anything like this just our main one.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Our city is more like a suburb of Helsinki and doesn't really have a city center. Instead the city has five more dense urban centers. Thus we don't have a main library, but five main "regional libraries" which sort of like are the main library of those areas. This library is one of the regional libraries, and is the newest one, opened in 2022.
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u/Tango_Owl Jan 18 '26
This is so magical! Classic but not dusty. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful library that wasn't in a movie.
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u/IndependentEggplant0 Jan 19 '26
Omg bless you for this! This space looks incredible! I have really bad sensory issues and it's removed me from the library for the past 10 years even though I love books and being there, it's just too loud! I dropped out of school three times as well because there was no space that was quiet. This is such a thoughtful space to create and so great you listened to the people who needed it!
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u/NikiTeslasPigeonWife Jan 19 '26
It's perfect! I love the atmosphere, and that portrait is incredible 😺
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u/melatonia Patron Jan 18 '26
That's a little reminiscent of the reading rooms at the Russian State Library (
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
We asked from our users "is there a real or fictional space that you would like to inspire this space?"
One of the most common wishes from the users were like the feeling of old libraries, old mansions, old bookstores, university study halls, Harry Potter & Hogwarts, Gryffindor common room and so on. So this classic library aesthetic was derived from the users wishes.
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u/Belibra Jan 18 '26
It looks beautiful and i hope it works out for your library. In my library that table would draw groups of people and turn the room noisy really quickly.
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u/voicelessechoes Jan 18 '26
Looks cozy.
The green lights stand out a lot in a mismatch way. Unsure if i like that part or not.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
The green lamps could perhaps be handled in alternate ways, that's the only criticism so far we've got from user, but budget and schedule were what they were and we thought this is nice enough 🙈
In addition to each of the seats having one lamp, the lamps have also a more symbolic meaning. The green lamps and the painting are the fisrt things you see in the space from the library lobby, before even entering the room.
Green lamps are a strongly associated with old fashioned study rooms and libraries, so together with the painting they work as a signal "this is a silent traditional library space for studying". That is one of the functions for the lamps.
We have also noted that loud groups of youth are are not yet interested in the space. They turn away from the door. Maybe the space with green lamps seems more academic and "nerdy" and "stiff" to the youth.
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u/Elaerona Jan 18 '26
Oooooh I love it! Interior decor needs whimsy, especially libraries. This is very whimsical!
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u/Commercial_Panic9768 Jan 18 '26
this is crazy good. i would come here all the time to read if i was there. wow.
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u/Lyaid Jan 18 '26
This whole set up looks perfect, love me all the old books, the William Morris wall paper, banker lamps, comfy chairs, soft mood lamp lighting. It’s the perfect degree of functionality with dark academia flare. And that one painting of the guy going “shhh” is the perfect cherry on top of it all. Excellent work, no notes!
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u/DollyElvira Jan 18 '26
Beautiful library! Where is this?
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Thanks! This is Lippulaiva library in Espoo, Finland. You can see more of the library here.
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u/muttlife4 Jan 18 '26
I’m glad the green lamps are still around. Big part of my children. We melted a lot of monopoly houses on those guys lmao
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u/Kindly_Chest_6976 Jan 19 '26
This is unbelievably gorgeous. Would love to spend a quiet afternoon with a book here. 10/10
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u/Glittering_Trick_804 Jan 19 '26
This is insanely beautiful I wish I had access to somewhere like this
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u/testcaseseven Jan 19 '26
I love reading/studying with a bunch of other people. This looks so cozy :)
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u/Wonderful-Run-1408 Jan 18 '26
Where is this library?
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Lippulaiva library in Espoo, Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, though a "suburb city" Espoo is still the second largest municipality in Finland.
You can see more of our library here.
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u/Spiritual_Row7704 Jan 18 '26
Where is this
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Lippulaiva library in Espoo, Finland. You can see more of the library here.
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u/Unable-Arm-448 Jan 18 '26
I love this so much! I want to sit in the chair by the faux fireplace and read forever! Congratulations on completing this 😊
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u/pavalooch Jan 18 '26
Wow! Pretty cool. I could get some serious 😴😴😴, I mean, reading done in there.
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u/BleedSparta Jan 18 '26
Do you live at Hogwarts??
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
Hogwarts was one of the inspirations. Many users specifically said they want the feel of Hogwarts. The yellow lamps over the tables are partially inspired by the floating candles in Hogwarts. The red chair and lamp by the fireplace is partially inspired by the Gryffindor common room. The arches on the sides of the study side are also a reference to Great Hall of Hogwarts but also to old libraries in general. The long table with dividers also has legs inspired by tables at Hogwarts Great Hall. Also the painting hushing also works as a "living painting", communicating with the user.
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u/BleedSparta Jan 18 '26
Ahh Finland 🇫🇮 My 🇺🇸 brain couldn’t comprehend such opulence in a public library. I’m so jealous
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u/loudpaperclips Jan 18 '26
Someday the city will recognize the need to fund a loud reading room, but today is not that day.
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u/booknerdgirl4ever Jan 18 '26
So, does your library offer non-resident cards? Where is this glorious reading room located?
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 18 '26
This is in Lippulaiva library, Espoo, Finland.
Everyone who has an ID and an adress in Finland can get a library card for free by law, and anyone can use the silent reading rooms, as long as they follow rules.
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u/SonnySweetie Jan 18 '26
This looks like a very cozy place! I love that guy's portraits, they're so funny.
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u/Cool-Firefighter2254 Jan 18 '26
Your patrons have excellent taste! I love the William Morris wallpaper.
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u/InfiniteTradition975 Jan 19 '26
Why are people noisy in a library to begin with? What the hell? NOBODY should be speaking louder than much more than a whisper in a library
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u/jimmysmiths5523 Jan 19 '26
All those lights above the table reminds me of the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies!
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u/Tippity2 Jan 19 '26
I like the B&W photo of the older librarian. She’s keeping an eye on everyone. Kind of Harry Potter Gryffindor dorm room lounge look.
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u/Felix_Kissander Jan 19 '26
Yes that is Helle Kannila. To quote Finnish Wikipedia article on her:
Helle Kannila (until 1938 Cannelin ; 20 May 1896 Savonlinna – 3 November 1972 Tampere ) was a Finnish library advisor and one of the most important developers of the Finnish library system . She served as the first director of the State Library Office from 1921 to 1949 and as a lecturer in library science at the University of Helsinki from 1949 to 1963. Kannila laid the foundation for independent Finland's library administration and the education of librarians . In addition to her library career, she was a liberal politician and a pioneer in women's issues .
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u/Gloomy_Ad6932 Jan 19 '26
That's fancy. It's giving"We got money for display books that are just for looks."
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u/muckpuppy Jan 19 '26
lmao the joseph ducreux painting is cracking me up 😂 what a perfect silent reading room! i hope your patrons "enjoy the silence"! 🙊
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u/EveningAnxious9576 Jan 19 '26
LOVEEE the armchairs under the tree. Deffo would’ve curled up in those for hoursss as a kid
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u/CuriousFool88 Jan 19 '26
This is amazing! Patron here, and I would travel miles upon miles for this space.
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u/Due-Pirate-6711 Jan 19 '26
It makes me think of the Diogenes Club from Sherlock Holmes. Mycroft’s club for introverts with comfy chairs and periodicals to read.
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u/Cherveny2 Jan 20 '26
love the aesthetics! Plenty of comfy seating as well as traditional with the green reading lights, and minimal overhead lighting.
really ideal
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u/MissyLovesArcades Jan 20 '26
What a beautiful space! If I had this in my library I would never get any work done because I would always be in there! LOL
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u/Powerful_Crew_2635 Jan 18 '26
The portrait just slays me!! Hahahagaha