located under same roof in the Julin House by Eerikinkatu. Due to lack of space also the children's department had to be relocated in 1991 to the Hjelt House at the Old Great Square where it operated until 2007. Beginning from the early 1980s the library had tried to find a feasible solution to the lack of space. In 2003 the City Council finally decided on constructing a new building for the Main Library that was to be located right next to the old building. The design competition for the new library building was won by JKMM Architects, and the construction was completed in 2007. The children's department, the reading room and the music department could now once again be housed under the same roof as the other departments. Today the Main Library consists of the old library building and the new library building which are connected by a corridor by Linnankatu. In addition to these, the Main Library also has meeting rooms and a café in the former chancellery of the provincial governor located in the inner court of the library block. Some of the branch libraries have been closed down during the 21st century. The Martti Library and the Mikael Library were closed in 2009, and the Lauste Library ceased operation in 2019. Many of the branch libraries have been converted to self-service libraries, which means that they can be used also when there is no staff present. Self-service has somewhat increased the use of these branch libraries. Branches In addition to the Main Library, the Turku City Library also includes ten branch libraries, one service point and two mobile libraries. Aunela, Hirvensalo, Ilpoinen, Nummi, Paattinen, Vasaramäki and Yli-Maaria libraries are also self-service libraries, that can be used independently with a library card and an attached pincode. Statistics The following statistics of the Turku City Library are from the year 2021: Loans: 2.9 million Visitors: 1.1 million Collection size: 820 000 items Acquisitions: 58 000 items Removals: 66 000 items Events: 1 500 Man-years: 153 Expenses: 12 million Euro References Further reading Kirjoista kokoelmaksi: Kansansivistystä ja kansainvälisyyttä Turun kaupunginkirjastossa 1800–1900-luvuilla. Toim. Kaisa Hypén, Leila Koivunen, Janne Tunturi. Avain, Helsinki 2015. Näätsaari, Inkeri: The Library of Our Dreams. Avain, Helsinki 2012. Seppälä, Eila: Turun kaupunginkirjasto 1863–1963. Turun kaupunki, Turku 1963. External links Official website Opening Hours and Contact Information Vaski Online Library Libraries in Finland Public libraries Buildings and