Helsinki City Library introduces the Lyngsoe Systems IMMS – the Machine Learning based Intelligent Material Management System™

The Helsinki City libraries count the beautiful Oodi library in central Helsinki, a truly modern library space with room for a wide variety of user activities and a user-tailored collection of physical books. The number of visitors welcomed by Helsinki’s new central library Oodi, since the library opening in early December 2018, has exceeded 20,000 on the busiest days – twice the predicted number and in all the Helsinki City Library services circulates of almost 10 million volumes a year to their just over 600,000 users.              

Finns are among the world’s most enthusiastic users of public libraries – the country’s 5.5m million people borrow close to 68m books a year.

The Helsinki City Library chose to implement IMMS as the first library outside Denmark, where the system was co-developed between the libraries of Aarhus and Copenhagen and Lyngsoe Systems, as the libraries wanted to increase automation in the process of managing the entire practical and logistic process around the physical book, freeing staff time and enabling the institutions to focus on their core task: customer service. The system offers real-time communication between the ILS and the library automation hardware, as well as staff mobile devices, making it possible at all times to locate items correctly no matter what the status is; as well as managing storage space and meeting patron expectations by having the correct books for the community on the shelves of each local branch.

“It will be interesting to see what the collections of the libraries in Helsinki will look like with the floating process. Will there be a specific children’s collection somewhere, for example? I think people might at first be confused by the new way of picking up reservations, but they need not worry, because our staff is there to help everyone. Guidance and presence will be increasing in the future as unloading and logistic work will be reduced,” says Regional Library Services Director, Helsinki City Library, Saara Ihamäki.

“We are very proud and happy to be a part of the forward-thinking transformation in Helsinki City Library. IMMS will form the backbone of the major logistical and collection-management processes in Helsinki to fill the fantastic physical frame in Oodi and all the other branch libraries with equally fantastic collections in terms of availability and relevance. We are sure this is a partnership bringing value to the patrons of Helsinki City Library in many years to come,” says Business Unit Director Henrik Kjeldgaard, Lyngsoe Systems.

The IMMS (Intelligent Material Management System) is supplied to Helsinki City Library by Lyngsoe Systems. The interface implemented in the library system Sierra used in Helmet libraries is supplied by Innovative Interfaces Global Limited. 

CO-DEVELOPED WITH DANISH LIBRARIES

The Lyngsoe IMMS was developed in close cooperation with Copenhagen and Aarhus Public Libraries. The user-involvement has resulted in an easy-to-use, efficient and time-saving collection management system.

You can download the report here