Tallinn Central Library unveils the new library bus and brand name
Today, on 28 November, an extraordinary sight could be seen on Freedom Square – book lovers were greeted by two library buses. Tallinn Central Library, under the new brand name Tallinn Libraries, ceremoniously retired its old library bus Katarina Jee, which served the citizens of Tallinn for nearly 17 years. Her modern successor and namesake was also unveiled, which will continue to provide a mobile library service to the capital’s residents.
The outgoing Katarina Jee has well earned her retirement. During her 17 years in the job, she covered 142 000 kilometres, served 200 000 readers and borrowed 300 000 books. Now it is time to hand over the baton to a newcomer.
According to Kaarel Oja, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn, the new library bus has been long awaited. “There could always be more libraries. We see how many people visit them across the city and how satisfied the citizens of Tallinn are with their visits. Unfortunately, in many areas, the library is still far away and that’s where the library bus comes to the rescue. Of course, the new bus is more modern and better in every way than the previous Katarina Jee, and this is the result of the very thorough and good work of our library team,” said Oja. “What’s particularly nice is that the design and construction of the new bus inspired us to put the next big steps for Tallinn’s libraries in place more broadly, and so one of the important changes we see on the bus is the new visual identity of the library, which will be increasingly in use from today.”
“We ran a competition in the spring to find a name for the new library bus, but the result was astonishing: a lot of people said that the name Katarina Jee has become so dear and familiar that they wouldn’t want to give it up. So we decided not to change the name of the library bus, and that’s how the new bus was named Katarina Jee,” said Kaie Holm , the library’s director, explaining the choice of name. “What the library bus offers will also remain the same – a wealth of good reading material for the city’s residents, educational programmes in schools and kindergartens, and exciting outdoor activities. However, the appearance of the bus has changed significantly, as have the space and technical facilities,” added Holm.
The bus uses environmentally friendly solutions (renewable diesel, solar panels, etc.) and can accommodate more than 3000 books. The bus has a central square section, which provides extra space to accommodate groups of children or classes, for example. One of the innovations is a self-service machine, familiar from libraries, so that readers don’t have to queue at the librarian’s desk but can return books and borrow new ones at their leisure at the bus stops. The floor of the bus is single-level and there is a lift at the entrance, so that a pushchair or wheelchair can easily get in. The sides of the bus have coloured lights to make the bus easier to see in the dark.
In line with the library’s new branding, the new Katarina Jee also has a completely different look compared to the old one. The design uses the library’s new signature graphic, based on colourful intertwining threads. Cool illustrations on the walls of the bus depict different people enjoying reading. Naturally, the bus also features a new logo and brand name – Tallinn Libraries.
The Library Bus is the first major example of a new identity that aims to make Tallinn Libraries easily recognisable, findable and unambiguous – a citywide network. “We are always close to everyone’s home, school or work. The library bus is a visual and practical symbol of this, accessible to everyone, regardless of location,” said Kaie Holm, Director of Tallinn Central Library. Bringing a new visual identity to Tallinn Libraries will take time, with the new solutions first being seen on simpler carriers. “We’ll do everything step by step. We have a total of 19 buildings, but we hope to finish the first round on the buildings in two years.”
The new library bus was built by Scania Eesti As and Kiitokori OY. The library’s new branding, including the exterior design of the library bus, was designed by design agency Velvet OÜ. The total cost of the library bus is 784 896 euros.