Library guide for new customers

First, register as a library customer. The method of registration depends on whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student at the University of Eastern Finland, an open university student, staff or other customer.  

UEF degree and postgraduate students UEF Open University students and staff members, who have their information in Peppi:  

Download the Tuudo mobile app and use it to register. You can use the library right away; your library card can be found in Tuudo!   

 UEF staff members, whose information cannot be found in Peppi:  

Register as a customer with this online form. Log in to the form with your UEF ID: username@uef.fi. You will receive an email notification when your registration and library card is complete. After receiving the e-mail, you can log in to UEF Primo and use e-books and other e-materials. You do not need a library card for this.  

Customers outside the University of Eastern Finland and members of KUH staff who do not have a UEF username: 

Register as a customer with this online form. You will receive an email notification when the registration is complete. After receiving the email, you can pick up your library card.  Once you have picked up the card you can log in to UEF Primo: the first time the password is your library card number. If you forget your password, you can change it by contacting the library's customer service, where you will get more detailed advice on how to change your password.

As a customer outside of UEF, you have access to printed materials acquired by the University of Eastern Finland. However, licensed e-resources can only be read on site in libraries.

Library card 

If you register as a library customer using the Tuudo mobile app, your library card is in Tuudo’s library section. You don't need another card!   

If you use a separate form for registration, you will receive a traditional library card. Go to the library and pick up a traditional card when the registration is complete, and you have been notified. When picking up the card, you will need a photo ID. 

If you later use the Tuudo mobile app, the information on your traditional library card will be combined with your account in Tuudo, and this will give you access to a digital library card.  

A library card – digital or traditional – is required whenever you borrow printed books.   

KUH staff 

After receiving the library card, you can request remote access ID from the KUH Medical Library for reading e-resources. If you forget your library card password, and cannot log in to UEF Primo, contact the library's customer service for more detailed instructions on how to change your password.

Yes! From the library’s perspective, you have the same rights and obligations as a degree student. For example, you can access both printed and e-books, use the 24/7 self-study facilities, and more. So, the things presented in this guide all apply to you as well.   

If you study entirely remotely, read especially the sections “How do I get a customership”, “Are all books available as e-books” and “How do I borrow books if I live in another city”. 

You will run into UEF Primo constantly on library matters. UEF Primo is the library's own search service, where you can find all the books, journals and databases (both printed and electronic) acquired by the library, conveniently in one place.  

You log in to UEF Primo with your own UEF ID (UEF students and staff) or library card number (other customers). In UEF Primo you manage your own loan matters: reservations, renewals and payments. You can also save your favourites and searches.  

From UEF Primo, you can also reach a huge amount of internationally published articles and other publications. 

Learn the basics of UEF Primo with user's guide.

Both printed and e-books can be found in the search service UEF Primo. Some of the books we have only in print, some only as e-books. You can search for a book by its name or the author, or by words describing its subject.

Printed books: The location guide tells you where to find the book you are looking for in the library. Read more about how to find the book on the shelf.

E-books: The e-book is identified by the information 'Available online'. Click on the link and click on 'Show online' to open the book. If needed, use your own UEF credentials to log in. KUH staff members can access most of the e-books with KUH remote access ID. Customers outside of UEF can read e-books only at the library premises. However, there are some e-books that are not available to visitors. Read more detailed e-book instructions.  

Watch the video Here's how to find the course book (duration 1:45)

What if the book cannot be found in UEF Primo or there is only reference information (i.e., the book information is visible, but the book is not acquired in the library)? If you can't find the book you want in UEF Primo, check to see if you can find it in one of your other nearby libraries. You can also order a book for yourself from another library through interlibrary services, which are subject to a charge.  You can also suggest purchasing a book for our library.

No. The library will always get an e-version of the course book, if one is available. However, this is not always the case. For that reason, all course books cannot be found online. On the other hand, most of the books in the library are e-books. Sometimes you may also come across a book that can be found both in printed and electronic form. In UEF Primo, you can find out what format the book you are looking for is in.  

E-books differ from each other and are often located on different platforms. Most e-books can be read by several users at the same time, but in some books access is more limited, e.g. 3 readers at a time. Some e-books can also be reserved. Some of the books can be read in the browser, some require a separate reading program. Other terms of use (e.g. printing, downloading, copying, possible user restrictions) vary by service. You will see these details once you find the e-book on UEF Primo.  

More e-books user instructions (E.g., help when e-reading does not work properly).

The loan period for course books is two weeks, for the other books four. 

You can conveniently renew your loans in UEF Primo or in Tuudo. The renewal can be done until the maximum renewal date (600 days) is achieved. If the book has a reservation on it, it cannot be renewed. 

Reading room copies can only be borrowed overnight or for the weekend.

E-books have varying loan periods depending on the publisher.

You can find information about returning books here.

Make a reservation for the printed book in UEF Primo. Some e-books can also be reserved. If the book is available at another UEF Library, you can get it for yourself by making a reservation. The book arrives in a few days. If all books are on loan or the book comes from another campus, the reservation is free of charge. If, on the other hand, the book is available on the shelf of your own campus library and you make a reservation for it, you will have to pay a reservation fee of 2 €.

Be prepared. We don’t have enough copies for everyone to have their own book, so sometimes you must make a reservation and wait for them. Don't worry, the books are moving fast.   

Most course books have a reading room copy if you don't have time to get your hands on the borrowable copy. Reading room copies are available for overnight and weekend loans. See more detailed instructions on reading room loans.

It is useful to search for books in other libraries as well. A good tool for this is the national Finna.

First, check UEF Primo to see if the book is available as an e-book and if it is available. 

Check to see if you can borrow the book from your local library. In Finland, in addition to city and municipal libraries, libraries of universities are open to all. Use the national Finna or the search service of your local library in the search.  

You can borrow books from the UEF Library to another location through the interlibrary services. Contact your local library and ask for an interlibrary loan. As a student at UEF and a student at UEF Open University, you can also borrow course books through interlibrary services. This service may be subject to a fee – check this from your local library.

In UEF Primo, you may come across a book with the availability information "Legal deposit copy". The legal deposit collection is an accumulating, statutory collection of Finnish printed and electronic publications. These books or magazines can only be read on the library premises. If you want a read one, make a request in UEF Primo. Read more about legal deposit copies.

Most printed course books have a reading room copy that you can read in the library premises. You can also borrow a reading room copy as an overnight or weekend loan. So, if all the exam books are on loan and the exam is getting closer, grab this straw. Overnight and weekend loans must be reserved. Read the more about reading room loans.

Journals 

Both printed and electronic journals can be found by the journal title on our search service UEF Primo. Check out the journal info in UEF Primo to see the date range which the journal is available either online or printed. Not all material published online is automatically at the university’s disposal. 

In order to read the journal remotely, use your UEF or KUH ID for logging in. 

Articles 

When you are in UEF Primo select "International articles" search. You can use words that describe the name or subject of an article or author as keywords. There are few Finnish articles available through UEF Primo so far. These should be searched through the national Finna. Finnish articles on medicine and nursing can be found at Medic. 

In order to read the article remotely, use your UEF or KUH ID for logging in. Some of the articles are not accessible, although they will be show up in your search. These materials are subject to a charge and the university has not acquired them for use. Sometimes the full text of an article can be found e.g. on Google Scholar. If you cannot find the full text, you can order the article via interlibrary services.

Additionally, articles can be searched via the discipline-specific databases. Check the most important databases in your discipline. 

If a loan is overdue, the fee is 50 cents / book / day.

Any reservation left not picked up will cost you 1 euro.

If you request from your own campus library a book that is available on the self, a fee of 2 euros is charged.

If the book is drenched in coffee or even totally lost, you will have to compensate for it.

You can find more precise rates on the library's list of service fees.

Print-disabled students can use Celia’s services. Celia provides course books in accessible formats for print-disabled students. You can register as Celia's customer at your own Campus Library by reaching the local Celia contact person in Kuopio (Tero Heiskanen tero.heiskanen@uef.fi) or in Joensuu (Salla Holm salla.holm@uef.fi).

During the academic year, Joensuu and Kuopio campus libraries are generally open on weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. KUH's scientific library has shorter opening hours. Before you arrive on campus, check the opening hours from the library's home page.

Joensuu Campus Library is located in the Carelia building. See Joensuu campus map and arrival instructions. In Kuopio, the campus library is located in Snellmania. See Kuopio campus map and arrival instructions. KUH medical library is located in Kuopio University Hospital. You can find the library in the lobby of the main building.  

Joensuu and Kuopio campus libraries have 24/7 self-study facilities, which are accessible to UEF students and staff outside the library's opening hours. Read more about them in the following section. 

Joensuu and Kuopio campus libraries have 24/7 self-study facilities, which UEF degree students, open university students and staff can access with an access badge also outside the library's opening hours. To get the badge, you must have a library card (in Tuudo or a plastic one). You can apply for the personal access badge with this online form. Read more about the library's 24/7 facilities.

There is an accessible entrance to all libraries available. The staff will assist you in using the collections.  

Read more about the availability and the accessibility of the library.

Yes and no. In some parts of the library a moderate use of voice is allowed, in other places you must be totally silent. In this way, peace at work is guaranteed for all. 

The quietest place in Joensuu campus library is the reading room at the first floor. See a map of sound zones for detailed information about all facilities. 

In Kuopio campus library there are no specific sound zones. Please adjust your use of voice according to the situation and always consider other users of the library.

The quietest place in KUH medical library is the reading room at the left back corner behind the glass wall.

At the library, you can find different kinds of spaces for working, studying and relaxing. 

Some group study spaces can be booked in advance, others do not have a booking option. Read more about the working spaces of each UEF library.

All library offices have desktop computers. They cannot be booked in advance. Sometimes the computer area is very crowded, so follow the common rules for the computer area when using them. 

Kuopio campus library has laptops to borrow. Joensuu campus library has borrowable tablets and laptops. There are facilities for working with your own device in all our offices. If you need headphones for work, we recommend that you bring your own. However, if necessary, there are a few headphones to borrow from the campus libraries. You can enquire about them in Joensuu from Oppari and in Kuopio from the library's customer service.

An open wireless network is at your disposal throughout the campus.

For IT support, contact Oppari and the UEF Digital Services. 

In the library, you can print and copy documents by using your personal printing quota or for a fee. You can also scan documents.

You can reach a librarian in many ways. Come to the library customer service desk, ask in the chat, send an email or call.  

If you need help and guidance in information retrieval, see our quick guide or discipline-specific services. There are also good instructions for using the library's search service UEF Primo.

See further guidance, or book an appointment with an Information Specialist. Guidance is provided on site as well as online.

For IT support, contact Oppari and the UEF Digital Services. 

Uffe is our most tireless worker. Uffe is the chatbot you meet on the library website and on UEF Primo. Uffe will help you with the basics of using the library and navigating our numerous guides. If Uffe can't help you, you can also reach an actual librarian in the library's chat during the library's service hours.

You can provide verbal feedback to the library staff or written feedback by filling an online form. All feedback is processed. Easily fixed issues will be solved immediately. Please leave your contact information, and we will get back to you.

You can stay up to library news by following the Library News on the home page or communication platform Viva Engage's UEF Library group. 

In addition, the library will keep you informed through several other channels: Kamu, Tuudo, Facebook and Instagram (@ueflibrary). The library has its own blog, too. 

Due date notifications, information about arrived requests and other messages related to your loans will be emailed to you.