Response to interpellation 2023/24:616 on reduced allocation of funds to resource libraries
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the reduced allocation of funds to the Finnish Institute's resource libraries. M argues that the government has not contributed to the reduction but has extended the initiative for the resource libraries and allocated 10 million kronor annually to ensure their future 1 2 3. M emphasizes that the agency Kungliga biblioteket itself distributes the funds and that the government cannot or should not have opinions on this distribution 4 2 3. S argues that Kungliga biblioteket has reduced the support and that this negatively affects staff and operations 5. S believes that the prioritization is lacking as the funds are insufficient for the mission and that Kungliga biblioteket proposes reductions instead of investing in the need 6 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Mirja Räihä has asked me what lies behind the reduction of the support to the Finland Institute's library and how I intend to ensure the future of the resource libraries.
The Royal Library has during the years 2021-2023 been tasked with carrying out an initiative on the national minorities' libraries as resource libraries for respective language groups and for the country's municipalities. For this assignment, 10 million kronor have been allocated annually.
In the budget bill for 2024, the government clarified its assessment that the resource libraries for the national minority languages strengthen access to literature in the national minority languages and that it therefore intends to extend the time-limited initiative. This was also clarified in connection with the regulatory letter for 2024, where 10 million kronor were earmarked within the appropriation for the initiative for national minorities' libraries. How these 10 million kronor are distributed between the different resource libraries is decided by the authority that manages the appropriation, in this case the Royal Library.
The government is therefore clear in its support for resource libraries and has not contributed to a reduction. In a very tight economic situation, the government has instead extended the investment in resource libraries and thus contributed to ensuring their future.
Mirja Räihä (S)
Madam Speaker! What a huge audience we have, Minister. Fantastic!
The Royal Library has, just as the Minister says, since 2021 had the mandate to develop resource libraries for the country's national minorities. The Finnish Institute's library is a resource library for the Finnish language.
The mission of the resource libraries includes, among other things, supporting the country's public libraries, school libraries, and regional libraries in their work with the minority language, in this case Finnish. The support shall be promotional and consultative. The intention is that it shall strengthen the municipalities' library activities, not that the municipalities should have a reduced responsibility. The resource libraries shall promote media provision in the national minority languages, and the work shall have a special focus on access to literature for children and young people.
The Finnish Institute's library is the country's only special library regarding literature in the largest of the five national minority languages. The library comprises approximately 20,000 media, and the staff has specialized knowledge in Finnish and Swedish-Finnish literature.
The library's book council compiles lists of newly published Finnish-language literature to facilitate book purchases for other libraries throughout the country. The library has digital services, with e-libraries and the streaming service Cineasterna. Persons residing in Sweden can access the digital services.
The library offers Finnish-language book packages for reading circles. The package contains eight copies of the same book. These packages are lent out to the entire country.
The library's books and other media cannot be ordered to other libraries via interlibrary loans. There are, however, exceptions. This applies to the Stockholm region.
The mission is, in other words, extensive. The Finland Institute does not work only for the Stockholm region but for the entire country.
I am well aware that it is the authority that is responsible for the funds that go to the resource libraries. Now, the Royal Library has reduced the funding for the Institute of Finland's resource library, from 2.1 million kronor to 1.7 million kronor. It is a vanishingly small sum in the state's enormous budget, but immeasurably much for the small operation at the resource library.
Madam Speaker! Tonight we have talked about billions. Now we are talking about 400,000. But it is 400,000 that are very important.
A total of five people work at the library, including the head of the library. A reduced budget could mean a reduction in the workforce or a reduction in the activities, that is, the support to the whole country. At the Finland Institute, there are fears that it could be both, both a reduction in staff, a reduction in opening hours, and a reduction in the services to the whole country.
The Minister states in his response to the interpellation that the government prioritizes the resource libraries and has therefore budgeted 10 million for all resource libraries, and that this is stated in the regulatory letter to the Royal Library. It is, however, the Royal Library that is reducing the support.
How is it that the Royal Library's budget is being reduced by a full 400,000 if the issue is prioritized by the government? I understand that the Minister does not want to micro-manage. But in my world, a prioritization means that one tries to maintain the activity in the form and the extent that it has today.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! We do not, thank goodness, have ministerial rule in Sweden. The government directs a budget to its agencies. Then the agencies are free to manage the distribution of the funds they have been allocated within the framework of the budget and based on their letters of instruction.
That is exactly the case in this instance as well. The Government has been clear that the investment in resource libraries is important and has therefore allocated the 10 million kronor that were announced and which are set aside for the purpose. But how the Royal Library, within the framework of the agency, chooses to distribute the money, I neither shall nor can have opinions on.
Mirja Räihä (S)
Madam Speaker! I am known for not giving up so easily.
This is the response you get when you email the head of the Finland Institute's library: I am working part-time due to a lack of resources. Please note that responses may take longer than usual.
To save the resource library, she has decided to personally reduce her working hours and salary. In my world, it does not sound sensible that one should have to do that.
Fundamentally, the question is about the financing of the entire assignment and whether 10 million is sufficient for the work to be carried out. In this case, it can be seen that there is a high demand for and a great need for support from both the library sector and the Swedish-speaking minority, but the funds for the assignment are quite limited.
In its final report, the Royal Library writes that the distribution of funds should probably also be based on demand, but that an increase in the total appropriation would be needed in order to be able to distribute grants based on demand. This must, of course, become a question for the next budget.
They continue: Another aspect that distinguishes the resource libraries is the conditions for the different languages in the form of different numbers of varieties and that the number of language speakers differs. Even the access to media in the different languages looks different. All of this combined means that the conditions for the operations differ between the different resource libraries, and the distribution of funds should for this reason probably be based on demand to some extent.
The Royal Library assesses, however, that it is not possible at the current stage to have any significant differentiation between the appropriations for the various resource libraries. At least a basic funding at the current level is needed to be able to conduct operations at each respective resource library.
This obviously means that all five resource libraries are equated. Everyone receives an equal amount of money. I will return to how much money remains at the Royal Library.
The Finnish Library started the resource library activities when the assignment was given. At that time, 2.1 million kronor were received for the resource library work. This year, 1.7 million is received.
KB writes the following: The application from the Finnish resource library indicates high ambitions regarding the operations. However, the resource library has on several occasions signaled that resources are lacking to conduct the operations as they are currently structured. Certain parts are both time-consuming and constitute a large part of the budget.
We have understood that the book club packages sent to various municipalities in the country are both successful and popular, but at the same time costly both financially and in terms of personnel. To reduce the workload and also the budget item for this part of the operations, we propose that the resource library instead produces a methodological support on how these circles can be carried out – that might sound wise. The support could, for example, include reading lists and support for book discussions etcetera.
The Royal Library is therefore signaling that there is an intention to decide on a smaller allocation for 2024. Now I have not read the entire quote, as time is running out.
Madam Speaker! The Royal Library hereby submits a proposal for a significant reduction of the activities at the resource library. Unfortunately, the library believes that this approach, of starting to cut back on existing activities instead of investing in the activities that have proven to be needed and have been used, can contribute to the minority's confidence in and trust for Sweden's minority policy initiatives being damaged.
When one reads KB's proposal, it simply does not feel like the government is prioritizing minority issues, even though it is the second time the Minister is trying to convince me that it is. When will the issue be prioritized for real?
I have also calculated that 5 times 1.7 million is 8.5 million. This means that there are 1.5 million left at the Royal Library. Why is the support being reduced then, when it is so palpable to lose 400,000?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! I absolutely believe that the interpellor is correct in their figures and their questioning. However, I am unsure if I am the one the questions should be directed to. I believe that in this case, it is wise to go to the source, that is, to contact and direct the questions to the relevant authority, in this case the Royal Library.
Again: From the government's side, we have clarified in the budget bill that our assessment is that the resource libraries for the national minority languages strengthen access to literature in the national minority languages and are important. It is also therefore why the government, in a time when we are living with a very tightly pressured economic situation, has nevertheless chosen to extend the investment in the resource libraries in order to be able to ensure their future.
How the authorities then choose to distribute the money they have received within the framework of the national minorities and resource libraries is up to each authority and is nothing that either I or the government shall or can have views on.
Mirja Räihä (S)
Madam Speaker! Then the question is not prioritized by the government.
Not so long ago, we debated Språkcentrum as a temporary project. Now we are debating the resource libraries. Even though I have spoken about the Finland Institute's library, I do not think the other four resource libraries are much better off.
One must remember how special the assignment is. When adults come into the libraries and want to start reading in the language they have partially lost, they say they need books at an Alfons Åberg level. They cannot read more difficult texts. We know that reading speed increases by starting with the simple and then ending with the difficult.
I have not personally had contact with the Royal Library, but the Finland Institute's resource library has obviously had that contact. Just as I have said, the Royal Library thinks that the resource libraries do too much and that they should do less so that they cost less money.
I am not so sure that the solution for Sweden's policy regarding the national minorities is that the resource libraries do less. Rather, they should do more. I would be satisfied if the 10 million were distributed, but they are not.
It is clear that the government cannot rule, but one should be so clear that they explain what they mean by prioritization. I do not think the Royal Library is prioritizing what is in the government's budget right now.
I thank you for the floor and the debate, and I thank the Speaker for enduring such a late evening.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! I can understand that the interpellator is questioning. That is, of course, possible. But I can, once again, really only repeat what I have already said, namely that despite a very tight economic situation, the government has nevertheless chosen to extend the investment in the resource libraries in order to thereby ensure their future. I think that in itself is a very clear signal of how the government chooses to prioritize and that the government is clear about its support for the resource libraries by extending the investment and not contributing to a reduction.
We will also continue to allocate 10 million kronor annually, and we believe that resource libraries play a very important role in minority policy and will continue to do so.
What the Royal Library does within the framework of its agency mandate and its budget allocation is for the agency to decide.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.