National Archives of Finland invests in digital services – plans for office changes will be made during 2026
The National Archives of Finland will start preparing plans to centralise the storage of analogue material. Planning concerns giving up five properties, expanding the Central Archives and the comprehensive digitalisation of services.
The National Archives of Finland will start preparing plans to centralise the storage of analogue material. Planning concerns giving up five properties, expanding the Central Archives and the comprehensive digitalisation of services. The aim is to ensure the continuity and quality of services in a situation where public finances and the service needs of our customers are changing rapidly.
Why are changes necessary?
The activities of the National Archives have undergone significant changes in recent years.
Customer visits to reading rooms have decreased by more than 80% over the past two decades, while the use of digital materials has increased sharply and continues to increase every year. The possibilities for using materials digitally have been revolutionised by text recognition and artificial intelligence.
Savings pressures on public finances are significant. The core funding of the National Archives will decrease by EUR2.4 million by 2027 compared to the funding level of 2024.
The aim of the changes is to reach annual rental savings of approximately EUR 1.7 million from 2030 onwards. Premises costs account for 30% of the National Archives’ budget, i.e. approximately EUR10 million.
Analogue material, i.e. paper material, has not been received from public administration since 2021. All public administration document materials created today are originally digital.
Under these circumstances, resources must be better targeted to services that customers use most.
Plans to give up certain premises by 2030
The National Archives starts preparing plans to give up specific premises. The plan concerns the offices in Oulu and Joensuu, as well as those in Pirttiniemenkatu in Mikkeli and Siltavuorenranta in Helsinki.
Digital delivery increases the nationwide availability of materials. We are also exploring new opportunities to use access restricted materials online.
The phases of the transfer and use of analogue materials are described in more detail as the planning progresses. We are actively looking for solutions that will allow continuing the use of analogue materials in locations where an office longer exists. We will provide more information on possible collaboration schemes later.
What is the timetable for closing down offices?
- According to estimates, customer service at the Jyväskylä office will end in September.
- The decision to give up the Hämeenlinna office will be made in summer 2026, with closure planned for 2027
- According to the plan, the Oulu and Joensuu offices and the Pirttiniemenkatu and Siltavuori offices in Mikkeli would be closed down in 2030.
According to the plan, the National Archives' remaining offices would be Helsinki, Turku, Vaasa, the Central Archives of Mikkeli, the Sámi Archives in Inari and the Kuopio office, which will also be used for archive activities in the future, especially for digitising material transferred from the authorities.
A prerequisite for the closure of the offices is the expansion of the Central Archives of Mikkeli, the project planning of which will begin year.
Further information
