Helka has been renewed. During the summer of 2020 the library system, which has served Helka libraries for almost 20 years, has been replaced by a new platform specifically tailored for searching and using electronic resources. The new Helka offers its users both new functionalities and a renewed user interface as well as a new, secure way to log in to the service.
New Helka can be found at: helsinki.fi/helka/en
What new does the new Helka bring?
The new Helka offers its users new functionalities, a completely redesigned user interface and a new, secure way to log in to the service.
University of Helsinki staff and students log in to Helka with their university user ID, other users with their e-mail address. University of Helsinki staff and students no longer need to update their customer information in the library database, as the current data is obtained from the university's systems.
From now on, books on the shelf (applies to books with 28 day loan period, not the textbooks) can also be reserved and picked up from the library after the user has received a reservation notification. The self-service pick-up works with the reservation ID number that Helka sends with the reservation notification.
The reservation fees will be removed, but a fee of 3 € will be charged for reservations that are not picked up in time.
There are also other changes in the library’s price list effective on August 1st, 2020.
University members can make acquisition proposals in Helka user interface. University of Helsinki staff members can order books directly on their mailing address at the university (HUPS service) and article copies to email in Helka's user interface.
In addition to credit cards, payments can now be made online with online payments from Finnish banks.
Logging in to the new Helka
University of Helsinki staff and students will log in to the new Helka in the Sign in menu with the university's user IDs.
Other Helka users will log in to the new Helka in the Sign in menu with their e-mail address. Helka will send a login link to the email you have entered provided that the email exists in Helka.
If you suspect that Helka does not have your e-mail address, or you have other problems logging in, please contact the customer service at Helsinki University Library.
Your loans and reservations in new Helka
The books on loan have not had due dates during the summer outage. The next due date for your loans is therefore no earlier than Thursday 12th August 2020. You can renew your loans by logging in to the new Helka, if there are no reservations for the books and the book-specific renewal time limit has not been reached.
Please note that any reservations you may have placed in the old Helka have not been transferred to the renewed Helka database, unless you have already received an arrival notification for the reserved book. Please be prepared to place the necessary reservations again now that the renewed Helka is in use.
You can find more detailed instructions on Helsinki University Library’s website: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-university-library/follow-the-news/…
Check the opening hours of your Helka library and the services in the exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus on the website of the library you are using.
Institute of the languages of Finland
Library of Finnish Heritage Agency
The Finnish Literature Society
The Library of the Labor Movement