Turku University Library services for general public

Almost all the material in the Turku University Library can be borrowed outside the library or used in the library. To borrow material, you need a library card. You can fill in the library card order form online or come to the customer service of any library unit during the service hours to get a library card.

To get a library card requires an identity card and a home address in Finland.

If you live far from Turku or cannot otherwise visit our library units, please contact your local library and ask them to order the material through the inter-library service. Inter-library service is a subject to a fee.

Opening and service hours, contact information

The online database of the University of Turku Library is called Volter and you can find it at utuvolter.fi. 

In Volter you can find all the printed and electronic materials of the Turku University Library. Sign in and you can renew loans, make reservations, and save your favorites. Logging in is done by the library card number and the first time you log in you can create a password via a link sent to the email.

Volter database

Quick guide to Volter

Six library units of the Turku University Library are located on the Turku campus: Arcanum Library, Calonia Library, Educarium Library, Feeniks Library, School of Economics Library and Teutori Library. In addition, the library includes Newspaper and Ephemera services, which are located in Raisio and the Teacher Education Library on the Rauma campus. You can visit all units and use their materials with the same library card.

In the Volter database, you can also find materials from the Migration Institute of Finland Library and Turku Training School Library. Please contact the libraries directly if you want to borrow their materials.

During the academic year, all library units are open on weekdays and some also on weekends. Customer service opens in most libraries at 12 noon. Opening hours and service hours can be found on the library's website. Temporary changes in opening hours are announced on the library's website and on social media.

Library units opening and service hours

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Turku University Library is one of Finnish legal depository libraries for cultural materials. The library has been receiving free copies since 1919, though collections include material prior to 1919, too. Legal depository materials are available for everyone to use.

• Non-fiction books of cultural materials are kept in the storage of the Feeniks Library and you can borrow them. Make a reservation for the book you want in the Volter database and you will receive a notification to your email when it is available. You can usually pick up the book on the next business day. You can also make a reservation by writing a request in the text box at the end of the library card order form. This way you can pick up the book while you pick up your library card.
• Fiction, magazines and textbooks belonging to cultural materials are not given on a home loan, but they can be accessed at the library premises. Fiction, magazines and textbooks are stored in the Feeniks Library and newspapers as well as ephemera materials in the Newspaper and Ephemera Services in Raisio.
• You can use electronic cultural materials at the cultural material workstations located at the Arcanum Library and the Feeniks Library. You can book a workstation by creating an account in the Asio service or by contacting the library.

Cultural material

Volter database

Library card application

Asio

As a rule, books that can be borrowed in library units are divided into two groups: research literature and course books.

Research literature

• Books on research topics of disciplines
• Divided by topic into shelf classes
• Loan period of 28 days, automatically renewed for one year

Course books

• Books that are in the course requirements for students
• Available for all customers to borrow despite the name of the collection
• Loan period of 14 days, automatically renewed for six months

The collection of the Turku University Library includes a wide range of electronic books and journals. The use of e-resources from home computer or mobile devices is only possible for students and staff of the University of Turku, but most of the materials can be used at library units' customer terminals on campus. You can also usually print the number of pages specified by the data provider. Printing is subject to a fee and the prices can be found in the library's price list of services. Some of the e-resources are only available to the students and staff of the University of Turku.

If you want to use e-resources, please come to any library unit during the service hours and ask a customer service to open a connection for you with a visitor ID. Our staff will also help you with printing.

Price list of services

E-books guide

The library's collections include theses made at the University of Turku, both in print and in electronic form. 

To search for theses in a particular discipline, you can use the ready-made searches in the Theses guide.

Theses guide

Printed theses

Information on the availability of printed theses can be found in the Volter database. Most of the Master's theses are located in the storage of the Feeniks Library. You can make a reservation in Volter or by contacting the library.

Theses are not given for home loan, but they can be used on the library premises as well as copied and scanned. An exception to this are the Master's Theses in Medicine and Nursing at the Teutori Library, which are also available for home loans.

Volter

Library units opening and service hours

library@utu.fi

Electronic materials

Since 2018, all Master's theses completed at the University of Turku have been published electronically in the UTUPub publication archive. UTUPub is an open access publication archive of the University of Turku, which contains, in addition to thesis work, other theses, such as doctoral dissertations and licentiate theses, as well as summaries of master's theses. In addition to theses, publications from the faculties and departments of the University of Turku are stored in the publication archive.

There are theses in two different collections: open theses, which are freely available online, and restricted-visibility works, for which the author has not given permission to be published on the open web. It is possible to read theses on the UTUPub terminals of the library. Terminals are available in all library units.

You can book a UTUpub terminal by creating an account in the Asio service or by contacting the library.

UTUPub

Asio

Copying and printing is possible at Feeniks Library and Educarium Library. You can scan items to your email in all library units. Ask the library staff for help if you want to copy, scan, or print.

You can take copies of library materials for personal use. It is also usually possible to print a number of pages specified by the material provider from electronic materials. Copies and prints are charged according to the pricelist of services. Scanning to your own email is free of charge.

Pricelist of services

To facilitate the use of library materials, we have prepared guides that are actively updated. The guides are divided into four groups, which are

• for researchers,
• information seeking and reference management,
• subject guides and
• resource guides.

Library guides

Parking on Turku campus is subject to a fee from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. During other times, the University's parking areas are free to use, with the exception of named parking spaces. Monthly parking spaces for personnel and students as well as short-term parking spaces for everyone are available in the campus area.

Information on University of Turku web pages