We recommend that you make a reservation for the book. Otherwise the current borrower may renew the loan. It is possible that the loan is returned before the due date, but it may be returned late as well.
You will receive an email notification when the book you have reserved arrives. You can also follow the status of the reservation in real time by accessing your Helka account.
You can use the Helka database to make a reservation for any material at the Library. Reservations can be made for material on loan as well as for material available at the Library.
Textbooks can only be reserved if all the copies are on loan. Reservations cannot be made for short-term (two-day) loans of textbooks.
You also cannot make a reservation for a work that you yourself have on loan.
You can make a request online. The library's customer service will help you with making a request if needed.
To place a request, you must be logged in to the Helka database. You will receive an email notification when the material you have requested is available for pick-up. In the notification you will find the request ID number you need for pick up.
You can follow in your account in Helka when the material you have requested can be retrieved. Please note, however, that the request ID does not appear in your customer information in Helka.
Reservations are collected as a self-service from the reservation shelf, where you will find it with your request ID.
You can place a storage retrieval request online.
A reservation is placed in the Helka database in the same way as a regular reservation. To place a request, you must be logged in to Helka. If necessary, the library's customer service provides guidance on placing a storage retrieval request.
You can follow in your account in Helka when the material you have requested can be retrieved. You will also receive an email notification when the material you have requested can be picked up.
You can make a reservation free of charge, but a processing fee of three euros will be collected if you do not collect or cancel the reservation by the last day of collection indicated in your Helka customer information.
Standard loanable material with a loan period of 14 days or 28 days waits at the pick-up shelf for 5 business days. Reference material, material from the closed stacks and interlibrary loans are kept reserved for 20 business days. If the library is closed during public holidays, the pick-up times will be longer than normal.
You can always check the last pickup date from the pickup notice sent by email.
The last pick-up date can be moved forward one time by a few days if there are no other reservations for the book. Please contact the library by phone or email at kirjasto@helsinki.fi at the latest by the last pick-up date.
If there are other reservations for the book, the pick-up time cannot be extended.
You can ask a friend or relative to pick up your reservation if you are unable to pick it up yourself. Reservations are collected as a self-service. The person collecting your reservation will need your Helka card, your request ID number and the PIN code of your Helka card.
You can make a reservation online. In most cases, it is possible to reserve books on loan as well as on the shelf in the Helka database.
To make reservations, you must log in to Helka.
You can reserve the book yourself online.
You can place a reservation in the Helka database on both books on loan and books on the shelf, with a few exceptions. To make a reservation, you must be logged in to Helka.
Yes, if you give them your Helka card, your request ID number and the PIN code of your Helka card.
In order to use the library's self-service lending machines, they need your PIN code. Reservations are collected as a self-service. They are arranged on the pick-up shelf according to request ID numbers. You will find this information in the notification that Helka sends by e-mail.
Please remember, however, that you are responsible for all materials borrowed with your card.
The status of books that have already arrived in the library and are currently being processed is displayed in Helka as “In process”.
If you come in to the library and make a request at the customer service desk, we will process the book as quickly as possible. So in this case, your best option is to visit the customer service desk.
The library has ordered the book, but it has not arrived yet.
Because it is difficult to assess when the book will be available, and because sometimes we are unable to obtain the books that we've ordered, it is not possible to make requests for books before they have arrived and their status is shown as "In process” (see the previous question).