Service on the net

iGS presents the library as a place where anyone can look for information. In this way iGS brings the public library closer to the purpose of the Library Act of the year 1998.

Access to information has become fast and easy. The majority of the population has access to the Internet. Internet content, quality and ease of use are also improving all the time and people have learnt how to use these services.

However, accessing information is not equally easy for everyone. A person may still face many obstacles and new kinds of obstacles, in information searching. 'Computer dexterity' does not guarantee effective information searching if the only known search method is Google’s word search.

Not everyone has sufficient basic computing skills. Many people do not have time to search information by trial and error. Despite the masses of information on the Net, many important sources of information are beyond the reach of an ordinary citizen either due to user charges or other limitations. On the other hand, the free services are not either accessible to everybody.

Easy access to information sometimes becomes an obstacle, when the identification marks of information sources disappear. It is easy to find information that looks correct, but one loses sight of what is really needed.

What kind of information do people need in their daily lives? Or as active members of society? What kind of information do they need for recreation and enjoyment?

While one person needs to find out how a garment is cleaned or a drink prepared, another one wants to understand natural phenomena, and a third one is grappling with the problem of the meaning of life. Young and even older people may be anxious about diseases and human relations. There is no correct answer to many of these questions. However, professionally assessed sources of information may yield information that helps one to go on.

iGS strives to fulfil citizens' practical needs for information, help them manage their daily lives, and quench a more general, cultural thirst for knowledge. Citizens have a great number of informational needs which cannot be satisfied because they do not have access to the necessary information channels or because they have inadequate information seeking skills. iGS is 'a citizen's special assistant'.

Face to face service

iGS does not function only on the Web. It also has a physical form and its bright red colours can appear in different parts of the city. Besides the work on the Web, one needs a live contact with the customers. At first, iGS operated in a room at the Lasipalatsi Film and Media Centre. In 2002 it went on tour and has visited railway stations, shopping malls, service blocks for the elderly, fairs, and tourist attractions in Helsinki. The completion of a new iGS barrel in 2004 made more flexible and faster touring possible.

The psysical iGS stations resemble gas stations. Their impressive appearance was designed by Arkkitehtuuri- ja muotoilutoimisto Talli Oy (Martti Lukander and Pia Ilonen) and they were built by Henrikin tuote in Uusikaupunki. The architecture of iGS is not based on the usual arrangement where the customer and staff are on opposite sides of the desk (and the screen) and where the staff members are gatekeepers of information. Instead both customer and staff are in front of the same screen, looking for information together. In this way the customer can continuously direct the search of information. The situation helps the customer to realise what he or she actually should be looking for.

A part of information service

iGS has found its niche in the Helsinki City Library's spectrum of services, and it is a part of the library's other information services. Customers are different, and their abilities to access information differ. They need many kinds of services: guidance and advice, help in locating sources, or a piece of information. Sometimes their need for information is urgent, at other times they need detailed information.

The work in libraries is changing, as customer self-service is on the increase. Most of traditional 'book locating work' has ceased, and it is being replaced by multi-faceted information service. The demands on professional skills are increasing and challenges are changing.