The use of information is changing constantly. We are accustoming ourselves to the fact that the majority of research and research material is produced in electronic form or can be accessed on the Internet. The availability of digital material will probably more and more dictate research and the topics of research. Corpuses of digital material produced by research projects are increasing rapidly. For research, it is ever more important what is digitised, what is permanently saved, what is published in electronic form and what can be freely accessed on the Internet. Will other material go unresearched? Will some of the material produced by other means go unused? These and other questions related to the acquisition of material and the provision of the services of cultural memory organisations and academic libraries are being considered in libraries, academic communities and ministries.

Information is disseminated more and more using diverse and varied methods. Open science eases and accelerates the circulation, use and production of knowledge and the utilisation of new knowledge in research. Printed research literature published in the humanities nevertheless retains a powerful position with a loyal user base. In the humanities, digital services primarily affect the supply and use of diversifying and proliferating research material, which in turn has a positive influence, in many ways, on research and its quality.

As the director of the Library of the Finnish Literature Society, I play a part in ensuring that internet services are raised to a new level. Search engines, databases, websites and electronic publications and digital material are being produced to serve researchers and those needing information in a more diverse and effective way. The Digital Library of the Finnish Literature Society, which was originally developed as an interactive service for researchers, has proved a platform worthy of development for wider-ranging digital material services. Henrik, the historical book database, has grown over the years from a small database founded by researchers to a significant open-access database for source material. In 2014 the Finnish Literature Society’s website was overhauled. The coming launch of the SKS’s Finna search engine on the Internet in 2016 will be a large step towards the provision of higher quality material, with the aim of improving the use of the Society’s own material and enhancing its search services.

Cultural memory organisations and academic libraries have long been in a phase of powerful development. This development and the resultant changes now form the status quo and the starting point for action. The SKS library is the leading library in cultural studies, and in recent years it has been developed in many ways. 2009 saw completion of the overhaul of the library’s organisation and premises, at which point the library’s open collections and service points were combined. Now for the past few years the focus has been on the development of services. The library’s collection policy and acquisitions programme was finalised in 2013, after which the SKS has focused on the renewal and wide-ranging development of its material and Internet services.

• Article on the Library of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS) in Tieteessä tapahtuu (in Finnish)