Estonia's municipal libraries cannot afford to buy books

The Estonian Librarians' Association has sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture, saying that insufficient funding for public libraries is hampering their ability to acquire enough books and other library materials.

In the letter sent to the ministry, the association points out that state support for acquiring library materials has remained unchanged at €1.9 million for the past five years. At the same time, books have become more expensive, while municipal funding for public libraries varies from region to region. According to the association, popular books have long waiting lists. For example, 127 people are currently waiting to borrow Tõnu Õnnepalu's novel "Tööpäev" at the Oskar Luts Library in Tartu.

Kristi Veeber, head of the Estonian Librarians' Association, said demand for e-books and audiobooks is also growing, but the selection available through the Mirko e-library does not meet that demand.

"If the situation continues, a large share of people will lose access to Estonian-language literature, especially children and young people whose reading habits should be a priority for society," she said, adding that the price of library materials has risen and readers can no longer afford to buy them themselves.

"Nor can libraries buy enough because state acquisition support has remained at the same level for years."

According to Veeber, an additional €1 million would be the minimum needed to help public libraries overcome the crisis. Ülle Talihärm, library adviser at the Ministry of Culture, said this is also one of the ministry's priorities in state budget negotiations.

"This is undoubtedly a very timely proposal that has been made to the ministry. The Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities has also submitted a similar proposal to the Ministry of Culture this year," she said.

According to Talihärm, increasing public library acquisition funding by 2027 is one of the ministry's priorities in order to improve access to publications.

"It would certainly support reading habits, but in addition to printed collections, access to electronic publications is also very important."

Librarians are concerned, however, that funding will instead be directed toward developing the Mirko e-library.

"Our position is that Mirko should not be funded at the expense of public libraries' acquisition support. Both are equally important," Veeber said.

Talihärm stressed that because the e-lending service is intended as a nationwide service for all municipalities, readers at all public libraries stand to benefit.

"The important thing is that we secure an incr