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- Click on one of the search methods on the home page, and you will be guided further.
- On other pages you will find the search methods in the drop-down menu on the left of the page (under the heading Search options).
- Library selection means that you can choose a municipality (e.g. the municipality you live in) to focus your search. The first results will then be for that municipality.
- The box SFL recommends (together with links) will appear in the left border of the results page when Search*Find*Locate has found exceptionally good network services for your search word.
- Choose viewpoint means that you must first choose one of the viewpoint options given for your search word. This permits searches by category in library databases.
- Note that selection of a viewpoint does not change your original search word.
- For ease of use search results are grouped under headings.
- The web service given as a search result takes the form of a link to the home page of the service.
- The icons WORD, AUTHOR or NAME after a web service indicate that you can continue your search with the same word entered into the database of the service.
- Clicking on the downward-arrow icon opens a window in the service that appeared as a search result. The window provides further information.
- You can remove the window by clicking once again on the icon.
- Keywords related to the search shows closely related terms on the screen. You can start a new search by clicking on them.
- Ask the library! means that if you cannot find the desired information on your own, you can ask the library.
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Internet searching is a field that is changing rapidly. This has both positive and negative aspects. Information is becoming available at an increasing speed via hundreds of thousands of servers on the World Wide Web. There are a number of tools which facilitate searching, but the sheer mass of search results means that no one has the time or energy to go through them.
Search engines (Google, Msn, etc.) are also developing rapidly. Users can often find what they require on the very first search page, at least if they use precise search words. However, search engines do not cover all sources of information, and the organisation of results leaves much to be desired.
S*F*L can compete by obtaining information systematically from many different locations, utilising the library classification system and its glossaries, and displaying the results to the user under various headings. Unlike other information search services on the Web, the search results also include reference information from the databases of libraries (from a single library or – through a multiple search – from several libraries simultaneously).
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SFL is not for you if you are in a hurry, or if you want the information to appear on the screen immediately. SFL requires the active participation of the user in the search – you choose and direct the search so that the results match your needs precisely.
SFL is not a search engine which searches anything and everything. It is based on a keyword list and subject groups. It employs the tools of library systems to utilise information produced by others.
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SFL is not a surfing site where you will be entertained by games or questionnaires with flashing images. It is a web service providing a wide range of search results. It guides you towards the original sources of information.
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SFL is a project financed by The Finnish Ministry of Education and directed by a national steering group representing all library organisations.
SFL is a web-based search service focusing on Finnish material. Its contents have been selected to provide the many different kinds of information required by the public.
SFL is a search application which is open to all.
Above all, SFL is an application which directs your information search - with your help towards carefully selected web services.
SFL is a semantic search application. Its most important elements are a keyword list and the library classification system underlying it.
The user interface of SFL is in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The technical implementation of SFL has been undertaken by Sininen Meteoriitti Oy.
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SFL can be used in many different ways. On the home page you can choose the search method, which on the other pages can be changed via the drop-down menu Search methods.
The search options are largely the same as those which have always been available through library card indexes and databases. However, the Internet can provide other information from library databases, in addition to reference and location information.
There are seven search methods in all: Keyword Search, Topic Search, Person Search, Title search, Multi-search, Public Administration Search, and Electronic Transactions.
You can examine the results by region, by choosing any municipality (library) from the drop-down menu Library selection. In the latter case, you first obtain the results for the municipality you selected and only then the results from all other web services.
If you encounter problems when searching and cannot find what you need, you can always consult the library via Ask the library! which can be found on every page of SFL. The service is managed by library personnel from all over Finland. The service can be contacted by email, by a "chat" service or by phone.
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The alphabetical list of keywords in SFL is based on HKLJ, the classification system of Helsinki City Library, with its thesaurus of over 22,000 keywords. The keyword list for SFL is updated on a weekly basis.
How do you search?
A link to the alphabetical list of keywords can be found on the top bar of every page. It opens on a page where you must choose Initial letter.
You can then browse the list at the letter you selected. If you wish you can change the letter on the upper part of the list. At every letter you see how many words the letter contains. This figure is followed by the total number of words.
When you find the keyword you are looking for, click on it to start a keyword search. You will receive the results grouped under several headings.
Go to the Alphabetical list of keywords.
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The Keyword search is the basic search in SFL. It is based on a thesaurus of over 22,000 keywords within the classification system of Helsinki City Library. From the Alphabetical list of keywords you can browse the entire list.
In the Keyword search you can select common search words such as "adoption", "acupuncture", "allergies", etc. The search can include more than one word, e.g. "international politics". This means that in the Keyword search you search mainly with "common" nouns, whereas in the Name/Title search you search with "proper" nouns.
Every keyword has been classified within a main class, and within a subclass within the main class. These classes underlie SFL's analysis of the search. But you do not have to know the classification system. You simply search with keywords.
Using the keyword's library classification, SFL retrieves web services which function as results of the search. These services have previously been classified on the same basis by the SFL administrators. For example: if you search with the keyword "housing allowance", the search results will show services which have been grouped into three main categories within the subclass "Housing policy".
How do you search?
Write your search word/words in the search box and start the search by clicking the Search button. If the search term can be found in the list of keywords at the bottom, you can obtain the results directly, grouped under various headings. If not, you must proceed by choosing a viewpoint for your search term in order to obtain the actual search results. This is due to the fact that the keyword is not always unambiguous. It may have to be defined via a particular viewpoint. For example the viewpoints of the keyword "bullying" are as follows: bullying at work, bullying at school, bullying at home, and bullying in the army. These viewpoints are always provided ready for use. You simply choose the one that suits you best.
The primary function of the viewpoints to help you to carry out more precise searches in the databases. From non-library databases the results will be obtained with the keyword with which you started the information search.
On the results page, below the heading Keywords related to the search, you will see keywords which have been classified within the same library class as the keyword you are using. Their purpose is to suggest similar keywords related to the subject. If you are interested in any of these you can start a new search with a keyword chosen from here.
If your search word is not in SFL’s list of keywords, your search is directed to the alphabetical list of keywords and from there to a point where you can check whether you may have made a spelling mistake, or whether you should have a plural form in the search term instead of a singular.
Nevertheless, you can continue your search using the word you started with, even if it was not included in the list of keywords. In this case the search results will not be as good, since SFL cannot utilise the benefits of the keyword and its class.
Search results
The results are grouped under different headings in order to make it easier for you to identify the sources of information which are most important for you. The headings only appear when there are web services that meet the search conditions.
The search results always follow the same pattern. The web service appears as a link to the service's own home page. The "WORD" icon after the service indicates that you can continue your search in the web service's own database using the keyword you started with. Below the downward-pointing arrowheads you will find a brief outline of the web service. From this point you can also access the web service's home page, or some other page which is maintained by the service and which may be important for searching.
In connection with the search results you may sometimes see the phrase SFL recommends (top-right of the page). The links below this phrase take you to web services which the administrators of SFL regard as potentially useful for your search.
On every results page you can find the heading results from "Search engines".
From here can continue your search using the main search engines (Google, Msn, Vivisimo, etc). The search word will remain the one you started with.
Go to Keyword Search.
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SFL has a special Subject search, which finally reverts to a keyword search. From this you can also access topic indexes produced by others. You should use the Subject search of SFL when you are interested in a topic but cannot come up with good or suitable keywords to approach it.
How do you search?
In the Subject search there are two stages. You first choose the main class and below it the subclass. For example, you might first choose the main class (6) and below it the subclass "Gardening". After the subclass there are, at this stage, 1-3 links. These let you directly access web services which the administrators have considered to be good web services for the subclass in question. These links often lead to other topic indexes such as Linkkikirjasto and Makupalat.
Search results
If you continue your search in the Subject search of SFL, the name of the subclass (e.g. "Gardening") functions as a link which will show on the screen all the keywords belonging to this subclass.
You can choose any of these keywords. These in turn are links which start a search similar to the Keyword search. In other words, you either obtain the search results grouped under the headings directly, or you will first have to choose a Viewpoint for the keyword. (For details see Keyword search.)
Go to Subject search.
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In the Person search you can simultaneously search:
- what a person has written, composed, directed, produced, etc.
- what has been written about the person, including magazine articles and reviews.
You yourself can limit the kinds of search results offered to you by ticking one or more alternatives.
How do you search?
In the Person search you write the surname and the first name in the search box. N.B: Do NOT put a comma between the surname and the first name. If you do not remember the first name, you can leave it out and continue with just the surname. The search will commence if you write only the first name, but the results will not make much sense.
Orchestras, musical ensembles and bands are also regarded as persons, since this is how they are treated in library systems. However, companies, associations, etc. should be searched with the Name/Title Search.
The search starts when you click on the search button.
The web services given as search results will be arranged under the headings in the same way as in the Keyword Search. In the Person Search you can also focus your search by ticking one or more alternatives. On the results page the web services fitting these alternatives are given first, with other web services given after them. The ticking option is provided because S*F*L cannot judge from a person's name what field he or she is belongs to. However, you yourself may have an idea of this. If all the possibilities were always included, there would be too many search results and a large number of zero results.
You can also search by merely ticking the boxed alternatives without actually writing the person's surname or first name. In this case your search results will be web services which are related to the ticked items and which can be accessed through a link.
Search results
On the results page (as for the Keyword Search) the name of the web service also functions as a link to the service's home page. If there is a PERSON icon after the name, you can continue your search directly in the web service's own database. Finally there are downward-pointing arrowheads under which you will find an brief account of the web service. This gives an indication of the origin and reliability of the information source.
On the right border of the screen there is a standard heading Results from other search engines. This lets you continue your search with the most important search engines such as Google, Msn, Vivisimo, etc.
If you want to borrow material you have found from your search, choose Library selection, then the library of your own municipality. This will give you the search results for your own locality. If the material is not available from your own library, but is available in another library, ask your library to obtain it through inter-library loans.
Go to Person Search.
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In the Name/Title search you will mainly find information from library databases, and from other web services.
Name searching may be difficult to understand at first, as the word "name" has so many meanings. In SFL, Name Search means that you can seek companies, associations, organisations, events and place-names. Accordingly, with Name Search you search for proper names (with the exception of persons and music ensembles).
How do you search?
In the Name/Title search you can search through library databases for books, poems or music albums. You can also search for a single piece by name or part of a name, e.g. "unknown soldier", "valse triste", etc.
In Name/Title Search you can narrow your search by ticking one or more boxed alternatives. In this case results for the ticked alternatives will appear first, and those web services which are always included in search results will be given after them.
You can also search by merely ticking alternatives, without writing anything in the search box. In this case your search results will be links related to the items you ticked.
Search results
On the results page (as for the Keyword search and Person search) the name of the web service functions as a link to the service's home page. If there is a NAME icon after the name, you can continue your search directly in the web service's own database. Finally there are downward-pointing arrows under which you will find an brief account of the web service. This gives an indication of the origin and reliability of the information source.
On the right border of the screen there is a standard heading Results from other search engines. This lets you continue your search with the most important search engines such as Google, Msn, Vivisimo, etc.
If you want to borrow material you have found from your search, choose Library selection, then the library of your own municipality. This will give you search results oriented to where you live. If the material is not available from your own library, but is in another library, ask your library to obtain it through inter-library loans.
Go to Name/Title Search.
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In SFL Metasearch means a simultaneous search through several databases, mainly the databases of the libraries. If you find the material you need through Metasearch and you do not have the right to use the library in question, you can order the material through your own library as an inter-library loan.
You should bear in mind that Metasearch is never as efficient as searching directly in a single database, using its own search conditions.
Metasearch is presented as a separate function on the home page of SFL, but it is also integrated with the other search methods. Within the other search methods it can be found on the results pages under the heading Metasearch in libraries.
Frank is the most important Metasearch tool in SFL. Through it you can search simultaneously through all the regional central libraries, all the libraries in a region or include municipalities (up to ten) in your search. The equivalent Swedish-language service is called Söksam.
The Nelli portal is a search interface intended for university libraries, general libraries and polytechnic and specialist libraries. It is organised by the Finnish National Library. Through the Nelli portal you can search simultaneously through the databases of Finnish libraries, and also through licensed and open databases covering periodicals. To use the Nelli portal you must have the right to use the available collections, either as a library customer or as a student.
Go to Metasearch
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The Public sector is designed simply as a list of links to public administration web services (since SFL does not produce or store any public administration information).
The Public sector includes public administration information both centrally and locally produced. Web services are produced and maintained by municipalities, provinces, regions, regional central libraries, healthcare districts, economic regions, labour and trade centres, and government departments.
The suomi.fi web service is the basic site for public administration information. It is highest on the list, and you should begin your search there if you do not know exactly what you are looking for.
Go to Public sector.
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The eServices and forms section contains a selection of forms and eServices, from both state and local authorities. Each organisation has selected the forms and services to be included in the Suomi.fi portal.
You can search for eServices and forms by writing e.g. the name of a form, form identifier or organisation in the search box. Forms can also be browsed by subject.
Go to eServices and forms
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In "Choose a library" you can focus your search on the library you have selected.
You can tell SFL which municipality you live in. The initial search results will then be oriented to where you live.
For example, if you choose Helsinki as your municipality, the results will first show (under a separate heading) the databases of the libraries located in Helsinki and the databases of the central regional library. You can search through them either separately or simultaneously.
In addition to libraries, the search includes the web pages of the municipality, plus the portals of the region, the province and the district, plus other web services which have a more general bearing on the search.
You can choose the municipality either right at the beginning or later, as the search proceeds. You can also switch off your choice of municipality at any time with a click of the mouse.
Instead of your own municipality you can also choose a specialist library, or another library through which the information search will be profiled. For example, if you choose the Library of Parliament, the results will be specified through the Library of Parliament and those libraries which are functionally similar.
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Since the web contains many kinds of information sources, there may be several complementary or competing web services relating to the same item or topic.
If there is an exceptionally good web service for your search word, and if the service has a good coverage of its field and provides a wide range of information, an SFL recommends box will appear in the right border of the screen. For instance, if you are searching with the search word "indexes", the link inside the SFL recommends box will take you to an index page maintained by the Finnish Central Statistical Office. There you will find the most important indexes and their current values. In other words, the purpose of the SFL recommends box is to guide you to a good source of information (sometimes several sources). However, this does not prevent other search results from appearing under the search headings.
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From every result page given by SFL you can continue your search with one of the several search engines available. The application will remember your search word and feed it directly into the search engine's search system. The search engines appear on the list under their own names, and every name is a link which starts a search.
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Under the heading Related keywords (in the right border of the Keyword search results) you will find all the keywords which belong to the same class as the keyword you are using.
For example, for the search word "Acupuncture" these words are as follows: Acumassage, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Zone therapy. Every word is an active link which starts a new search.
The words in the list are intended to give you a wide view of the field pertaining to your search word and to help you find a more appropriate search word if need be.
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Perhaps the most difficult part of SFL is Choose viewpoint, which appears quite often in connection with search words. The most important thing about the viewpoint is that it helps you to search the databases more accurately.
The viewpoint resembles the keyword. However, the search continues with the keyword you started with, for other web services than library databases cannot act on [check] the viewpoint you have defined.
How do you continue?
You must choose one of the viewpoints, after which you will obtain the actual search results.
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On the results page the results are grouped under headings, to help you to identify the web services related to your search. The name of the service functions as a link to the home page of the service provider. WORD, PERSON and NAME icons indicate that you can continue your search with the keyword, individual’s name or other name you started with, e.g. with the title of a book. The arrow icon opens a window in the web service in question. You can hide the window by clicking on it once again. However, you should not expect to obtain results every time!
Web services
Under this heading you will find miscellaneous web services which are determined on the basis of your search word (or strictly speaking on the basis of the subgroup your search word belongs to).
Encyclopaedias and glossaries
Under this heading there will be at least one web service, Wikipedia, even if it does not contain definitions precisely fitting your search. If you wish, you can edit the text of Wikipedia yourself! Other web services are determined by your search word.
Subject indexes
Linkkikirjasto is a subject index which will always be included because of its multi-disciplinary nature; other indexes will be included depending on your search word.
Metasearch in libraries
The web services under this heading will always be included in search results, since library databases contain references from every field. Multi-Search allows you to carry out a simultaneous search in several library databases. Note, however, that the search results are always better if you search a single database directly!
Library databases
Under this heading you will always find Fennica (The Finnish National Collection) and HelMet (the joint database of the libraries of the Helsinki metropolitan area), for together these databases give good coverage of the material available in Finnish libraries. Other library databases will be included depending on your search word.
Articles and news
Under this heading you will first find Aleksi and Arto. Both these databases may change a fee, but you can access them from the work-stations of most libraries. You can also access Arto from a mobile phone by following the instructions. Many other web services under this heading are also always included, since their content encompasses several fields.
Periodicals and newspapers
Under this heading you will always see the web service Aikakauslehtien liitto: Mediakortit. This is compilation of the most important periodicals published in Finland. Individual periodicals are included depending on your search word.
Under this heading there are also Finnish newspapers with databases in which you can continue your search using the search word you started with. There is also a list maintained by the Finnish Newspapers Association. This shows Finnish newspapers which have a web site of their own.
Archives
Under this heading there are many kinds of archive web services. Some of these will always be included in the search results, while others will be included depending on the search word.
Statistical viewpoint
This heading appears when there are statistics available for your search word.
Legislative viewpoint
This heading appears when a Legislative viewpoint applies to your search word.
Web discussions
Under this heading there will always be discussion groups available through Google, for through this web service it is possible to find web discussions on almost anything. An individual web discussion site will be included when there exists a specific web discussion forum for your search word.
Commercial web services
Under this heading you will mainly find business directories in which you may find web services pertaining to your search.
Pictorial material
Under this heading there are many kinds of image banks in which you may find pictorial material pertaining to your search word. Note that e.g. Google's image search may give you a large number of results which are not really related to your search word!
Web thesauruses
Under this heading are listed the main Finnish keyword thesauruses used in Finnish libraries. Unlike all other web services, the web service continues your search directly with your search word.
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Ask a Librarian is a joint web information service operated by Finnish libraries. The group answering questions consists of library personnel from various municipal and specialist libraries. The service can be found on every page of SFL under the heading Ask the library! If you cannot find the desired information on your own, you can send your question by email at any time. You will receive an email response as soon as possible.
Go to the Ask a Librarian web service.
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A chat-based information service can be accessed from every page of SFL under the heading Ask the library!
There are several different channels at your disposal. SFL recommends that if possible you should start with the chat information service channel of your own municipality.
The chat information service is a new feature in Finnish library services. Libraries are incorporating it into their service menus on a piecemeal basis. The individual libraries decide on the hours when their chat channels are open.
Go to Chat information service. (Chat-service is coming soon!)
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Libraries also serve the public by phone.
On every page of SFL, under the heading Ask the library! you will find the option Phone. This is a link to a catalogue in which you can find all the Finnish libraries and their contact information. The catalogue is maintained by Kirjastot.fi.
Go to Phone service.
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The inter-library loans service is responsible for lending and copying between libraries/ information service units. If a library does not have a certain item, it can – at a customer's request – order the material from another library.
You can find the Inter-library loans link on every page of SFL under the heading Ask the library! The link will take you to a page of SFL where you will be given additional instructions.
Go to Inter-library loans. (in Finnish)
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On the SFL pages you can change the graphics colour scheme. You have five options: "Moon", "Cloud", "Snow", "Rain" and "Spring".
At the planning stage of SFL the colour option was "Moon". It is also the default colour, but you can replace it with any of the other colour options.
If you are showing an image on a screen with a projector, the best alternative is Snow, which has white as a background.
Please note that the search results are independent of the choice of colour scheme!
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You can view the home page of SFL purely as a text version. The link Text version can be found at the bottom of the page, after the options for Change colour scheme.
You can return to the graphics version from every page of the text version, through the link Graphics version.
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The Print button appears on the top bar of every page of SFL. When you click on it, the current page will open in a new window. From the file menu you can choose the Print option.
Note that the part of the page to be printed will consist only of the "active part", i.e. all standard texts and images will be excluded from the printing.
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