What is the Multilingual Library?
The Multilingual Library is a library funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The Library is open to everyone. It is situated at the Pasila Library in Helsinki. The Library has material in more than 80 languages. Most of the collection consists of printed books but there are also music, films, magazines, audiobooks and ebooks. Anyone may request these materials from the Multilingual Library.
The Multilingual Library does not have material in European languages that are commonly used in Finland. These languages include English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian, Estonian and the Scandinavian languages. The largest selections available are in Arabic, Chinese, Somali and Persian.
How do I order material to Lahti?
You can request material from the Multilingual Library by contacting any public library location in Lahti. Loans from the Multilingual Library are free of charge. When placing a request, let us know the language and the amount of books or other material you would like to get. If you are looking for material for a child, give the age of the child. It may be better to request several items at the same time because the materials are delivered to us from Helsinki in one transport.
The loan period is four weeks but if necessary, the material may be renewed. The items should be returned to the same library in Lahti where they were picked up. The material must be returned during the library's opening hours because it must be handed over directly to the staff.
Requests: elena.olkonen@lahti.fi or tel. 044 416 4798 (Adult Area Services)
Requests for children's and youth material: lastenosasto.kirjasto@lahti.fi or tel. 044 018 7106 (Children's and Youth Services)