One of Helsinki's Hottest Karaoke Bars Is a Suburban Library

In the music section of the Tikkurila library in Vantaa, Finland, a Helsinki suburb, you can do more than check out a CD. You can also do karaoke, CityLab reports.

The library recently made 3300 songs available for karaoke-loving patrons, giving residents a place to belt their favorite tunes without having to go to a bar. It’s a venue that's open during the day, where you don’t have to be of legal drinking age or have an especially high tolerance for public humiliation—the booth is sound-proof.

Even better? The library is offering an adult education karaoke course which promises to teach participants how to control their voice, use the microphone, and wow the audience. (Just, maybe stay away from Sinatra, guys.)

Libraries all over the world are trying to reinvent themselves not just as places for books, but places to hang out, learn, and socialize—so-called "third spaces" where people can congregate away from their homes and workplaces. In fact, a number of libraries offer unusual items for check out, like mobile internet hotspots or power tools. At a time when most libraries aren't glamorous and plenty of people can download books to their e-reader from home, karaoke gives people a reason to gather together in a free, public place.

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