Vantaa opens library in former nightclub at Jumbo

A new library will open on October 15 in the Jumbo shopping centre in Vantaa, in premises that once housed a nightclub, Yle reports. The library will be larger than its predecessor and will become the 10th shopping-centre library in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

The library has 1,400 square metres of space, compared with less than 800 square metres at its previous location inside Vantaa International School in Kartanonkoski. Its design uses textiles, carpets, ceiling materials and subdued lighting to create a quieter atmosphere, says service supervisor Marjo Päivärinta.

Shopping-centre libraries have become an established feature in the region. The first opened at Iso Omena in Espoo in 2001. The latest before Jumbo was the library in Helsinki’s Redi shopping centre, which opened in January 2024.

The move has drawn opposition from parents and local residents, who say a library in a school is more accessible to children and young people than one in a shopping centre. Sirkku Ingervo, a teacher and deputy councillor who lives in Kartanonkoski, called the relocation a significant reduction in local services.

“The library inside the school has been the heart of the area and an important meeting place,” Ingervo said. “Jumbo is a hypermarket that you have to reach by crossing major roads and going through parking garages. It is completely different from a school lobby.”

Vantaa will pay more than 580,000 euros a year in rent for the premises under a 15-year lease. The city says the move responds to growth in the area: the school library was the only library space in the wider Aviapolis area and had become too small. The school’s enrolment has also grown, and it will take over the space vacated by the library.

The library’s opening events will run from October 15 to 18.