Finland shows highest library activity level in nearly 20 years

According to the Finnish literary copyright organization Sanasto, 2024 was record-breaking for public libraries in Finland, and the number of printed book loans reached the highest level since 2005.

The total number of book loans in libraries increased by 4% compared to the previous year. Even more growth occurred in children’s literature, where the third consecutive loan record was detected.

“The growing popularity of libraries is great, but, at the same time, author compensations should increase according to the number of book loans in libraries,” said Niina Vettensola, Executive Director of Sanasto.

According to the organization, the incomes of authors in Finland continue to decline even though demand for their work is steadily growing.

Sanasto represents the interests of over 16,000 Finnish writers, translators, poets, and scholars. It manages payments for the use of texts in libraries, on television, radio, and in electronic form.

It is interesting that after 59 northern municipalities joined Finland’s National Electronic Library, the service detected a thousand new user registrations every day.

As reported, in 2023, there was a discussion in Finland about copyright law and the regulation of free distribution of book covers by libraries on the internet.

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Main image: Jari Kovalainen / Yle

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn