The National Archives of Finland open on fewer days throughout Finland at the beginning of 2023 due to fewer customer visits

The National Archives of Finland has announced its opening hours for 1 January – 31 March 2023.

The National Archives of Finland has announced its opening hours for 1 January – 31 March 2023.

Customer visits to reading rooms have decreased year by year, with the drop being more than 80 per cent in twenty years. At the same time, the availability of digital materials has improved, and their use has increased – more than 90 per cent of customers only use our digital services. We have more than 166 million digitised images.

In November, we asked our customers what opening hours would serve them best if the opening hours of reading rooms were shortened. Well over half of the 770 respondents considered it better if the National Archives of Finland’s locations were open more rarely but for longer hours.

The survey showed that the majority of our customers (roughly 75 per cent) visit our locations once a month or more rarely. Based on the responses, visits usually last throughout our opening hours, with evening hours being busier in certain locations.

Archives open more rarely but for as many hours as before

Based on the survey results, we have changed our opening hours so that we can serve our customers as extensively as possible. This means that, even though archives will be open on fewer days, they will be open from 9 am to 4 pm. Opening hours on individual days have not been shortened.

Evening hours will remain relatively unchanged. Archives will be open during weekends, as requested in the survey results. Archives will also be open on Fridays in all locations except for Hämeenlinna. All reading rooms will be closed on Mondays, also in Helsinki. The Sámi Archives in Inari will be open from Monday to Thursday based on bookings.

Our goal is to implement these changes relative to customer visits in each location and orders delivered, if possible.

We will collect feedback and experiences regarding the changes throughout the first part of the year to develop location-specific opening hours. We will also use the results of the November survey in the future. The aim is to update opening hours by quarter.

See the opening hours of the reading rooms here.

Further information
Päivi Happonen, Director General, paivi.happonen(at)kansallisarkisto.fi, tel. +358 50 468 8762