Renovations of the Tõnismägi building, begun in 2022, hit a milestone on September 1 when the builders officially handed the building back over to the library.

While full public access is still more than a year and a half away, furnishings are arriving gradually, some spaces open for rent this month, and educational programs — including vocational training — will resume in the coming months.  

Director Martin Öövel said delays in funding affected the move, as their interior budget remained unclear.

"The building shell is ready — symbolically and structurally the hardest part — but to offer services, the space needs furnishings," he explained.

As the collections move back from the temporary Narva maantee site, they will be unavailable until November.

The National Library, however, will not fully close: the Solaris Center branch remains open, the Estonian Depository Library will continue providing select services, and the library's book lockers are still in operation.  

Öövel emphasized that while reading rooms are important, "all other services will keep running as usual."

National Library marketing and communications manager Liina Luhats-Ulman said that the temporary downtown location on Narva maantee drew varied responses.

"There was a lot of positive [response] — the space here is bright and open, in huge contrast to the old National Library," she acknowledged. "But quite a few people still really miss Tõnismägi."

The fully renovated National Library of Estonia in Tallinn's Tõnismägi neighborhood is expected to reopen to the public in May 2027.

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