Changes will be made to the reservation pick‑up process at Turku City Library in order to respond to the continuous growth in reservation volumes.
A new reservation pick‑up model will be piloted at Varissuo Library starting on 22 April 2026, and it will also be introduced at the Main Library during the summer.
During the pilot, information and user experiences will be collected and the new pick‑up model will be further developed. The model may be introduced at other Turku City Library service points in the coming years.
- The change will certainly feel challenging for frequent reservers, but it will make things easier for those who place reservations less often. Instead of having to look for where a reservation is located on the shelves, the notification now immediately shows which shelf it is on,” says Director of Library Services, Rebekka Pilppula.
How does the new reservation pick‑up model work?
In the new model, customers will no longer have a personal reservation identifier. Instead, each reservation will have its own unique pick‑up identifier. Customers will look for their reserved item on the shelf indicated in the pick‑up notice, among other items. There will no longer be a receipt placed between reservations, but the same shelf will not contain two identical items.
Reservations will continue to be free of charge. The pick‑up notice will be sent to the customer only when the reservation has been placed on the shelf, so customers will no longer need to wait for the reservation to be shelved. The pick‑up notice will continue to indicate where and when the reservation can be collected. In addition, reservation details will also be available in the Vaski online library, where customers can check which item is ready for pick‑up, when it can be collected, and from which shelf.
Why is the reservation pick‑up model changing?
The number of reservations placed on library materials has increased year by year, and the current reservation handling process requires a significant amount of staff time. In 2025, the total number of reservations across Turku City Library service points was 528,672.
In the new pick‑up model, time savings result from processing reservations in batches at the library, whereas previously they were handled individually. One of the sustainability goals of Turku City Library is to reduce the use of thermal paper receipts. With the new reservation pick‑up model, more than 60 kilometres of thermal paper will be saved annually.