Keskraamatukogu library walkabout

Location

The Department of Literature in Foreign Languages library is a modest branch of the Tallinn central library at Liivalai 40, Tallinn, Estonia. It's 10 minutes from the city centre commercial area, 5 minutes from a tram stop, and located next to a residential area. The single floor library is clearly positioned to serve young readers residing in the nearby apartment buildings and to supplement the Tallinn University Academic Library, which is also within walking distance.

Visual inspection

The public library branch is just next to a park and opposite the Liivalaia Main Street. Despite its relatively small size, the nondescript building is difficult to miss. As a foreigner, it felt like a familiar place to me in comparison to some of the other buildings in Tallinn. It's not as busy, crowded, or visually imposing as the public libraries I visited in Auckland, New Zealand and San Diego, but its understated appearance made it more welcoming and less intimidating.

Coming from the direction of the tram stop, the most noticeable characteristics of the building are as follows:

• A brightly lit view of the dedicated area for children's books. The choice of lighting made me think of how warm and welcoming the library would be during the extremely dark and cold months of Estonia's winter.
• A slot for returning books and brief instructions on how to use it.
• Posters of events and library promotions, as well as safety and health warnings.
• The main entrance with the Tallinn Central Library logo and Wi-Fi.

Entrance and main hallway

On entering, visitors are greeted with the wide and roomy main hallway. Initially, I felt like too much space was wasted on the hallway leading to the front desk until I noticed the piano, display cases for art children have made, paintings by locals hanging on the walls, a community bulletin board, and a small table of free newspapers and periodicals for visitors to pick up. Judging from the amount of available space, the main hallway could've been used for lining up and assembling children, young learners, and guests during events. 

Since the library is small and only one floor, wayfinding wasn't an issue. There were passages to the left and right but they were clearly marked for the toilets and Internet browsing area. All you could really do was walk forward to the front desk and/or enter the main library area.

Navigation for visitors

As noted, the public library isn't very big and it's not too difficult to perform typical activities. In addition, there are visible QR codes that pull up the English tutorial and guide for using Tallinn public library services. 

For my part, I focused on the following three use case scenarios. 

User type and activity	Steps	Signs and instructions
New user - Front desk services (e.g. ID, reference, instructions, book returns, inquiries)	The front desk is 20 feet from the main entrance and reached through the main hallway. The staff are in a comfortable area partitioned off because of Covid restrictions.  The front desk is supplemented by a self-service area.	The front desk is clearly visible and the first thing you see when you enter the library.
Regular user – Internet and computer services	To the right of the main entrance is a sign indicating Internet, which refers to all PC-related services offered by the library branch such as scanning, printing, accessing the digital library, and web browsing.	In Estonia, all activities, including borrowing library books are performed using the national ID card. Logging in to services uses the Personal ID number on the card. Public libraries issue a physical card only when requested. Since everyone residing or working in Estonia has an ID number, very little instructions are needed for assigning a password specifically for using Wi-Fi and workstation services at the library, although instructions are posted on the doors and workstations.
Group users - Children’s auditorium, function and study rooms.	The front desk can reserve the rooms for guests and users, or reservations can be made via e-mail.   Since the library wasn’t busy at all during my visit, the librarian let me use the function room even without a reservation.	There are signs for every function room and accessible either from the main library area or from the hallway.

Indoor characteristics

 

User type and activity	Steps	Signs and instructions
New user - Front desk services (e.g. ID, reference, instructions, book returns, inquiries)	The front desk is 20 feet from the main entrance and reached through the main hallway. The staff are in a comfortable area partitioned off because of Covid restrictions. The front desk is supplemented by a self-service area.	The front desk is clearly visible and the first thing you see when you enter the library.