Library of Academy of Finland

The library of Academy of Finland was opened in 1974 with a view to supporting planning and decision-making at the Academy of Finland. The library specialises in volumes on science and technology policy and science studies. The library’s collections reflect the shifting interest of science policy over the past 30 years.

The collections include volumes in

• science and technology policy
• science studies, material on assessments of research and higher education policy
• research statistics

The library’s purchases include a good coverage of Finland-related material. From other countries and international organisations, such as the OECD and EU, the library collects core material, for example research statistics, statistics on higher education, science policy reports, and publications on research funding and research activity. In addition, the library acquires volumes selectively from the following fields:

• history of science
• philosophy of science
• sociology of science
• psychology of science.

The Academy of Finland’s own publications are available from the collections. Since 1992, data on the material of the library have been filed in an electronic database. The collections comprise a total of some 30,000 titles; of these, 10,000 titles are found in the database. Of periodicals, journals and newsletters, there are 290 titles. Some of the material is also available online.

Periodicals and journals (in Finnish)

The Science Policy Library is open to all and provides free access to its collections.  The library lends publications both for home reading and through distant loans. The loan time is four weeks. The postage is charged of loans sent by post.  Journals and reference library material is not lent out, but it is possible to copy them at the library at a cost price of 10 cents per page. If copies are sent by post, the charge is 3.50 euros for the first ten pages and 10 cents for each following page, plus postage.