Library book loan compensation in Finland is considerably lower than in other Nordic countries. Minister of Culture Pia Viitanen of the Social Democratic Party says she wants literary authors to get their due payment for their work.
Viitanen has called together representatives of all the parliamentary parties with copyright organisation Sanasto to discuss how library compensation should be raised during the next government. The raise to Nordic standards has been proposed by Parliament.
”Even though small raises to the budget have been brought about, Finland still has a long way to go if it wants to keep up with the loan compensations of other Nordic states,” Viitanen said. “Our nation’s culture is based on domestic literature, and the creators of that literature need to be guaranteed proper compensation for library loans on their books by the law and by a specific directive.”
Viitanen says she feels that finding a lasting solution to the “library benefit” is paramount.
”We have agreed with Sanasto on calling together a working group, to which all parties may assign their own representatives, alongside the ministry and specialist members,” she said.
Viitanen says that the group’s intention is to find a solution to the compensation issue that raises the policy to Nordic standards. The minister also underlined that library services constitute a basic and local service for Finnish citizens.