Where you should look for information is defined by your information need.

Are you looking for a specific book? You should search the Helka database, where you can find printed and electronic materials (such as books, magazines and articles) acquired for the Helsinki University Library’s collections. Do you want to search for a book in several libraries at the same time (for example, in libraries of all higher education institutions)? Use the Finna.fi search service, where you can find the collections of many Finnish libraries, museums and archives.  

Are you looking for research articles? Search Helka for international articles by topic, title or journal name. You should search for domestic articles at Finna.fi. If you cannot find the article in electronic format, the journal can also be found as a printed version in the library. Use Google Scholar to find more published articles.  

Do you want to see which journals have been acquired for the library? With Helka journal search, you can search for journals by category. You can also browse the e-journals ordered by the library by their subject area in the visual user interface of the BrowZine service, where you can collect journals and articles from your field of science to your own journal shelf. 

Are you looking for theses? You can search for printed and electronic theses of the University of Helsinki through Helka. In addition, you can browse electronic theses in the University’s digital repository Helda. Theses from other higher education institutions can be found at Finna.fi.  

Do you urgently need new information on a particular topic and do not need to comprehensively map the information published on the topic? Use Helka or Google Scholar.  

Are you exploring what has been said about the topic, for example, for your thesis? Search scientific databases in your field. Use research guides to find the best databases for your subject.  

Use the Helka database search to find the databases that the library has subscribed to. The search will be more comprehensive when you search several different databases for different scientific information sources. 

Information search channels:  

–Helka database (University of Helsinki)  
–Finna.fi –search service for archives, libraries and museums (National Library of Finland)  
–Google Scholar –search service for open access and paid scientific materials (Google)  
–BrowZine –user interface for browsing and organising electronic journals (Third Iron)  
–Helda –University of Helsinki open repository (University of Helsinki)