The total number of visitors to Tampere City Library in 2025 was 2.9 million, an increase of 4.9 percent from the previous year. The Main Library Metso saw more visitors than in the past ten years, totaling 872,000.
Library materials were actively borrowed. In 2025, Tampere City Library recorded 4.9 million loans, which is 3.7 percent more than the previous year. The number of borrowers exceeded 100,000 for the first time since 2003. Reservations hit a record high: 682,000 collected reservations represent a 12 percent increase from the previous year.
Library services were more accessible to residents in 2025. Both staffed and self-service opening hours increased with the opening of the new Vuores Library, the renovated Härmälä Library, and extended hours at Koukkuniemi Library. On average, Tampere residents visited the library 11 times last year and borrowed 19 items.
“I’m delighted to see how actively people in Tampere use the library. We haven’t had this many visitors in 20 years, and you’d have to look back more than a decade for better loan figures. We’ve also succeeded in meeting the growing demand for library services: expanding the library network to Vuores at the end of the year was a truly necessary improvement,” says Director of Library Services Niina Salmenkangas.
Children’s book loans grew particularly strongly in Tampere. In 2025, children’s literature was borrowed more than 1.9 million times. This marks an all-time record and a 7.4 percent increase from the previous year, which was also a record year. The most reserved children’s book was Tatun ja Patun 14 outoa ongelmaa ja ratkaisut niihin by Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen. Among adult titles, the most reserved were Jakob, Rakel, and Hildur by Satu Rämö.
Children and young people used the library more actively than adults. Last year, 39 percent of Tampere residents were borrowing customers, but among primary school-aged children, the share was much higher. For example, over 80 percent of 8–10-year-olds borrowed something from the library in 2025 with their own library card.
Tampere City Library invested heavily in literacy work last year. School group visits and book recommendations reached a total of 7,120 children, about a thousand more than in 2024. Mobile libraries played a significant role in promoting children’s reading: as much as 81 percent of their loans were children’s and young adult literature.
Libraries also offered plenty of digital support for adults. A total of 1,650 people received digital guidance through open sessions, personal appointments, or phone support—clearly more than the previous year.
