Exploring Oodi, the Central Public Library of Helsinki, Finland

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Teachers know that travel, in addition to being fun and intellectually stimulating, is one of the most meaningful experiential learning opportunities available for both themselves and for their students. Summer Break is a great time for travel! Earlier this month, I returned from a vacation to Scandinavia, and while I was there I visited an internationally-renowned Helsinki Central Library in Helsinki, Finland. This visit offers an excellent opportunity to incorporate a travel experience into the classroom curriculum.

Author Terry Lee Marzell visited the Helsinki Central Library on a vacation to the Scandinavian country of Finland in July, 2024. Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

This public library, the brainchild of Finnish Minister of Culture Claes Andersson, was conceived in 1988, and opened to the public on December 5, 2018, the flagship project celebrating the 100th anniversary of Finland’s independence. The facility, affectionately known as Oodi (“Ode”), is located on Kansalaistori Square, directly opposite the Finnish Parliament House. The positioning represents the library’s place as a promoter of equality, literacy, reading, and freedom of speech. In 2019, the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) named Oodi the best Public Library of the Year.

Author Terry Lee Marzell shows one of several sewing machines available for use by patrons at the Helsinki Central Library. Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

Oodi holds a collection of over 100,000 books in 23 languages. The collection also offers musical instruments, sheet music, movies, video games, and board games. I even saw a patron carry out a fishing pole he’d checked out! There are also sewing machines, a laser cutter, a vinyl cutter, 3-D printers, and a UV printer available for use.

The facility also boasts meeting rooms, game rooms, a playground for children, rehearsal rooms, a cafe, and a theater that holds 250 patrons. Often called “Finland’s living room,” there is a massive reading room located inside, a youth space, an interactive fairy tale wall, and seating options on a casual second-floor patio known as the Citizen’s Balcony located outside. The library also hosts lectures and concerts.

At a visit to the Helsinki Central Library, Hal and Terry Marzell came across this little robot transporting books from floor to floor. This little robot appears to have personality! Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

A model of updated technology, we were delighted to come across one of three robots that runs errands around the library, transporting books from floor to floor. And this little robot appears to have personality!

Simultaneously bustling with activity and a haven for quiet, independent study, Oodi is everything a modern library should be.

Given that Finland is a country not often found on travelers’ itineraries, it’s probably unlikely that you might ever escort your students on a trip there, but you can view a virtual tour of the facility—or share that virtual tour with your library science students—at this link: Oodi. Whether in person or online, I wish you happy exploring!

 

Former English teacher Mark Takano serves in US House of Reps

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Former English teacher and member of the US House of Representatives Mark Takano works to improve educational opportunities for learners of all ages. Photo Credit: The Press Enterprise.

Many fine classroom teachers go on to successful careers in politics. One of these educators in Mark Takano, a former teacher who now serves in the US House of Representatives.

Mark was born on December 10, 1960, in Riverside, California. He spent his entire childhood there. As a Japanese American, he grew up listening to stories told by his parents and grandparents about their internment in an American camp during WWII. As a young boy, Mark attended La Sierra High School. When he graduated in 1979, he was named the school’s valedictorian. After his high school graduation, Mark attended Harvard, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Government in 1983. He earned a second Master’s in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Creative Writing for the Performing Arts, from the University of California, Riverside, in 2010.

Once he earned his degree, Mark worked as a substitute teacher for various public school systems in the Boston area. Later he returned to Riverside, and, in 1988, he inaugurated his teaching career in the Rialto Unified School District. He taught British Literature at Rialto High School. Only two years later, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Riverside Community College District. There he worked diligently to increase job training opportunities for adult learners. In 1991, Mark was elected Board President. In all, Mark taught for 23 years in public schools.

In 2012, Mark was elected elected on the Democratic ticket to represent the 41st District in the US House of Representatives. His District includes Riverside, Moreno Valley, Jurupa Valley, and Perris. As a Congressman, he serves on a variety of committees, including the Education and Labor Committee; the Science, Space and Technology Committee; and as the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

To learn more about Mark Takano, see his Congressional website.

Tisha chronicles engaging story about teaching in the Alaskan wilderness

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One of my favorite “teacher” books of all time is Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness. The volume is the memoir of pioneer teacher Anne Stevenson Hobbs, as told to masterful chronicler Robert Specht.

I absolutely love this action-packed true story about a young teacher who travels to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920’s to teach in a frontier school. This book is as much an adventure story and a romance as it is a chronicle of early Alaskan history.

At the age of 19 in the 1920’s, Anne Hobbs, a plucky young lady, travels from her home in Colorado to the Alaskan wilderness with the intention of setting up a frontier school. She knows nothing about Alaska or living in the wilderness, and she is completely naive about the social conditions or customs there, but she is full of a desire for adventure. She certainly finds it when she lands in a small village called Chicken. Besides encountering the expected lack of teaching materials and frigid temperatures, Anne heroically battles prejudice against the Native Alaskans when she falls in love with one of them.

If you haven’t read this book yet, run—don’t walk—to your nearest brick-and-mortar bookstore and buy it right away! You can also order Tisha on Amazon.com, but don’t wait too long to read this exciting story. This tale will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Marzell’s books included in several prestigious academic libraries

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I always get excited when I learn that one of my books has been added to the collection of a prestigious university library. A search of WorldCat reveals that both of my books have been added to the collections of prestigious university libraries.

My first book, Chalkboard Champions (2012), is part of the collection of the twelve academic libraries. These include the University of Arizona, Tucson; University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii; the City University of New York in New York, New York; and Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. The volume is also part of the collection of the libraries of Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and the State University of New York in Oswego, New York. The book is also available at Hunter College in New York, New York; Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey; Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts; and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. In addition, it is part of the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Chalkboard Heroes (2015) has been included in the collections of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California; Chadron State University in Chadron, Nebraska; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and the University of Chicago Library in Chicago, Illinois. The volume can also be found in the Alaska State Library in Juneau, Alaska; Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana; and Central Connecticut State Library in New Britain, Connecticut.

Many thanks to all these university libraries for honoring my work!