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The polytechnic experiment, which started in the beginning of the 1990s, is the largest educational reform in the history of the Finnish system of higher education. The polytechnics were built on former colleges and institutes of higher vocational education. Hardly any of the polytechnics had sufficient library and information services. This reform has meant many changes in the libraries of the polytechnics and it has brought to attention the need to upgrade the skills of the library staff. What competence or abilities did they feel they were lacking? What educational needs did they identify? These were some of the issues that were studied in a nationwide questionnaire in Finland. In this paper the results of the study are reported. The educational needs identified by the library staff concerning four main topics (library work, leadership and management, inform‐ation technology, and learning and learning environment) as well as the main topics for continuing professional education, preferred methods of instruction and suggestions arising from this study are discussed.