Description of the material
The material has been digitized to save it from wear and tear, or if it is particularly popular to make it available to all those who may need it. The results of the digitization depend on the condition of the originals. Some newspapers may have been printed with worn typeface, for instance, or their pages may have faded with time. The majority of the digitized material is not currently subject to copyright.
Historical Newspaper Library
The first set of material in the National Library of Finland to be digitized is the Historical Newspaper Library, opened in 2001. This has been constructed as part of the Nordic "Tiden" project and with support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Ephemera
The ephemera are not merely nostalgic remnants of the Finnish way of life but form an important body of source material for historical and cultural studies. The library's collection is also used by people such as architects and house builders who wish to make use of designs from earlier periods, and by schools and colleges as means of providing a livelier picture of conditions at various points in time for the study of various school subjects. Similarly, designers and collectors of antiques can find valuable details on the history of objects and products from old industrial price lists.
Periodicals
Collaborating publishers of digitized newspapers and periodicals:Suomen historiallinen seura,
Historian ystäväin liitto,
Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura and
Kopiosto ry,
which has developed a model copyright contract suitable for use in the project. Peri+ has filled out the Elektra project's collection of new periodicals and newspapers published in electronic form. The Elektra project is coordinated by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies.
The material is available for use on workstations belonging to university libraries and public libraries that have concluded a user agreement.
The material has been digitized and placed on the Web by the Centre for Microfilming and Conservation at the National Library of Finland's Digitization Centre.