Using the library

You can get your own library card by presenting a photo ID and agreeing to comply with the rules of use. Children under the age of 15 need a written consent from their guardian to obtain a library card. The guardian is responsible for all material borrowed with the child’s card.

Read the rules of use carefully and save them for future use. Upon receiving a library card or agreeing to serve as a guarantor, you agree to comply with the rules of use of the Vaski libraries.

If you lose your card, notify the library immediately by calling +358 2 778 4950 or by e-mail to kirjasto​@​salo.​fi​. You will be held responsible for all material borrowed with a lost card until you have reported the card missing. The fee for replacing a missing or damaged library card is EUR 2.

Remember to notify the library of any changes in your name or contact details. We do not receive said information from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

PIN code
You can obtain a PIN code (4-10 numbers) for your library card. You need the code to

• renew loans and make reservations in the web library
• use the lending machines
• borrow a laptop for three hours from the Salo Main Library
• access the self-service libraries
• use e-resources offered by the Vaski libraries.

To get the PIN code, you must visit a Vaski library in person. We cannot disclose access codes by telephone or e-mail for information security reasons.

Upon receiving a library card or agreeing to serve as a guarantor, you agree to comply with the rules of use of the Vaski libraries.

Rules of use of the Vaski libraries, 1 June 2021 (pdf) (597,66 Kt)

You must have a library card to borrow material. There are lending machines available to the customers in all Salo libraries. To use them, you will need a PIN code in addition to your library card.

You can renew your loans up to five times either in the library, by telephone, or in the web library. However, you cannot renew a loan if

• reservations have been made for the item
• it has already been renewed five times
• you have unpaid overdue fees for a minimum of EUR 15
• your borrowing rights have been revoked.

Renewals are free, but overdue loans will cost you! The customer is always responsible for renewing the loans on time. The due date indicated on the loan receipt and in the web library is binding, even if the customer had not received any notifications of the upcoming due date. Disruptions in telecommunications do not reduce the possible charges. If there are problems with the web library, the customer must renew the loans by calling the library, for example.

Your borrowing rights will be revoked if

• your unpaid overdue fees exceed EUR 15
• you have received an invoice or a collection letter for overdue material
• you have lost or damaged library material.

Your borrowing rights will be revoked until the material has been returned/reimbursed and the accumulated fees have been paid.

You can return borrowed materials to any Vaski library, regardless of where you initially borrowed them. The interlibrary transport service will deliver the materials to the correct destination. 

In the Salo Main Library, loans are returned to the automatic lending machine. No library card is required to return loans. 

The Salo Main Library and the libraries of Muurla, Perniö and Pertteli also have a drop box for returning loans outside the library opening hours. The drop box at the Salo Main Library can only be opened with a library card, and the loans returned to the box are immediately removed from the customer’s loan data. However, materials left in the drop boxes of the local libraries will be processed and registered as returned on the following opening day. The loan period ends when the library closes on the due date. As a result, loans returned to a drop box on the due date after the opening hours of the library may accrue overdue fees until the return is registered. The drop boxes of the local libraries are closed when the library in question is closed for a longer period, such as during summer holidays. 

Eight of the ten libraries in Salo serve customers as self-service libraries. In a self-service library (Halikko, Kiikala, Kisko, Kuusjoki, Muurla,  Pertteli, Suomusjärvi and Särkisalo), you can return loans either to the library staff during their office hours or to the machines during self-service hours. You can enter the library during self-service hours using your Vaski library card and your PIN code. 

If you wish, you can receive an e-mail notice of upcoming due dates 1–7 days in advance. The upcoming due date notices are free of charges. The due date indicated on the loan receipt and in the web library is binding, even if you had not received any notifications of the upcoming due date. The customer is always responsible for renewing or returning their loans on time. Disruptions in telecommunications do not reduce the possible charges. 

If you return or renew your loans after the due date, you will have to pay an overdue fee. The overdue fees accumulate for all calendar days following the due date. The overdue fees show up in your customer information when the material is either renewed or returned.

The fee for overdue loans starts accumulating on the following day after the due date. The library will send a reminder of overdue material when a week has passed from the due date. If there are reservations for the overdue item, the reminder will be sent on the day following the due date. If a reminder is sent, a notification fee will be charged, in addition to the overdue fines. You will receive the reminder as an SMS, an e-mail, or a letter, depending on what you have selected in your personal settings. If the item is not returned, the library will send you a second reminder three weeks after the due date. After this, the collection of the fees will be transferred to invoicing.

You can pay the overdue fees either at the library or in the web library under Profile/Fines (login required). The library will not send a separate paper invoice for overdue fees.

Charges and Compensation Fees of The Vaski Libraries 1.6.2021 (pdf) (120,19 Kt)

These fees will increase at the turn of the year, 1.1.2025:

• Reminder fees: 1st reminder €2 (previously €1.50) and 2nd reminder €5 (previously €3)
• Address check from the population register: €2 (previously €1.50)
• Interlibrary loan order: €5 + sending library fees (previously €4 + sending library fees)

The other fees, such as daily late fees, will remain unchanged.

Compensation fees

• CD and cassette tape cases EUR 1
• DVD and audio book cases EUR 2
• Other storage bags, folders, and cases EUR 5

Photocopies and prints

• Black and white A4 copy or print EUR 0.20/page
• Black and white A3 copy or print EUR 0.40/page
• Colour A4 copy or print EUR 0.40/page
• Colour A3 copy or print EUR 0.80/page

Item prices

• Plastic bag EUR 0.20
• Paper bag EUR 0.60
• Textile bag EUR 3.50

As a customer of the Salo library services, you have access to all of the Vaski libraries’ collections (except for the reference library collection). When you make a reservation, it is automatically applied to the entire Vaski collection. The so-called Jokeri materials make an exception to this rule, as Jokeri items cannot be reserved or renewed. When you make a reservation, you must also choose a pick-up library for your item. If the item is not found in the library of your choice, the library will transport the reserved material to the pick-up point you have selected.

You can make a reservation either in the web library, at any Vaski library, or by telephone. You will receive a pick-up notice by e-mail, SMS, or post (depending on your choice of method) when the item you have reserved is available for collection at the library. The pick-up time for the reserved material is five working days after the pick-up notice is sent. Reservations have been free of charge since early 2017, but uncollected reservations are charged with a fee of EUR 2.