On a January mid-morning in Helsinki—marked by a bracing cold, cerulean blue skies, and a pale-gold eastern light—Oodi, the city’s newly opened Central Library, gleams and glows from its seat in the cultural heart of the Finnish capital. A “people’s gift” to celebrate the centenary of independence for this most literate of nations, Oodi (which means “ode” in Finnish) is a monumental spruce-clad structure that lifts skyward with its luminescent glassy upper levels and, inside, hums with activity.