The book trade in Finland

Transcription

Doris Stockmann Niklas Bengtsson Yrjö Repo
THE BOOK TRADE IN FINLAND
From author to reader — support measures and development in the book trade
Figures and tables updated in December 2005
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................4
DEFINING THE BOOK TRADE.....................................................................................5
The Book ......................................................................................................................5
Book classification systems..........................................................................................5
BOOK PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTION ................................................................5
Published titles..............................................................................................................6
The life cycle of books ...............................................................................................13
Classics .......................................................................................................................13
Bestsellers...................................................................................................................13
BOOK CREATORS........................................................................................................14
Authors .......................................................................................................................14
Translators ..................................................................................................................14
Graphic designers and illustrators ..............................................................................14
Comics creators ..........................................................................................................14
PUBLISHERS.................................................................................................................15
Publishers today..........................................................................................................15
Major publishers.........................................................................................................15
Other publishers..........................................................................................................16
Challenges for Finnish Publishers’.............................................................................16
Published Finnish titles in international comparison..................................................17
DISTRIBUTORS AND WHOLESALERS ....................................................................18
Bookshops and other companies selling books...............................................................19
Number of bookshops.................................................................................................19
Book clubs ..................................................................................................................20
Encyclopaedia sellers .................................................................................................20
Internet bookshops......................................................................................................20
The sales structure and profitability of bookshops.....................................................21
BOOK SALES ................................................................................................................23
Paperbacks..................................................................................................................23
Sales in terms of money .............................................................................................25
Fixed-price system......................................................................................................26
The effect on Finnish bookshops of abandoning the fixed-price system ...................28
Book prices in Finland................................................................................................28
BOOK PROMOTION.....................................................................................................30
Sample stock...............................................................................................................30
Databases....................................................................................................................31
Telecommunications...................................................................................................31
Catalogues ..................................................................................................................32
Campaigns ..................................................................................................................32
Book fairs and other events ........................................................................................32
Books and the media ..................................................................................................33
BOOK CONSUMPTION................................................................................................34
Books and the consumer.............................................................................................35
Central government, municipalities and companies as book buyers..........................35
Libraries......................................................................................................................35
National Library .........................................................................................................40
Virtual library .............................................................................................................40
Literacy.......................................................................................................................41
2
GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES FOR THE BOOK TRADE ...........................................41
Cultural administration and certain education and science appropriations ................41
Department for Education and Science Policy ...........................................................41
The Arts Council of Finland.......................................................................................42
Consultative Committee for Public Information ........................................................43
Book trade funding and subsidies...............................................................................43
Production/distribution ...............................................................................................48
Funds for promoting Finnish literature.......................................................................48
Funds for promoting literature in Swedish.................................................................48
Finnish literature translation and publication funds ...................................................49
Selective production subsidies ...................................................................................49
Purchase subsidies for low-volume quality literature ................................................49
Easy-to-Read literature promotion .............................................................................49
Grants for production of photographic publications ..................................................49
Support for publications of visual artists....................................................................50
Promoting cultural and publication activities by Sámi and other minority cultures ..50
Leisure activities and PR ............................................................................................50
Promoting creative writing and reading .....................................................................51
Finnish Literature Information Centre........................................................................51
Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature..................................................................51
State subsidies for regional arts councils....................................................................52
Organisations ..............................................................................................................52
Other subsidies ...........................................................................................................53
Direct State subsidies for creators in the book sector.................................................54
Artist pensions ............................................................................................................54
Academicians .............................................................................................................55
Artist Professors .........................................................................................................55
Grants .........................................................................................................................55
State grants to artists...................................................................................................55
Writer and translator grants ........................................................................................56
Illustrator, graphic designer and comics creator artist grants.....................................57
State grants to artists...................................................................................................57
Project grants ..............................................................................................................57
Foreign travel grants for creators in the book trade ...................................................57
Grants for children's culture .......................................................................................58
Public information grants ...........................................................................................58
Public Lending Right compensation grants and subsidies for authors and translators58
Public Lending Right Grants for Illustrators and Comic Artists ................................59
Prizes in the book trade ..............................................................................................59
Finland prizes / State Prizes for Literature .................................................................60
State Prize for Merits in Children’s Culture...............................................................60
State Prize for Foreign Translators.............................................................................61
Seesam prize for Easy-to-Read literature ...................................................................61
State public information prizes...................................................................................61
Direct support to artists from regional arts councils ..................................................62
State support for libraries ...........................................................................................62
Supporting bookshops ................................................................................................63
VAT on books ............................................................................................................63
Experiences of VAT on books ...................................................................................64
Book price development.............................................................................................64
Book sales development .............................................................................................64
3
Lowering the VAT rate on books ...............................................................................67
PRIVATE AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR BOOKS ...................................69
Finnish Reproduction Rights Organisation (Kopiosto) ..............................................69
Radio fees ...................................................................................................................70
Foundations ................................................................................................................70
Business companies....................................................................................................71
Book trade associations and organisations .................................................................71
The Finlandia prize.....................................................................................................72
Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers ......................................................72
Translation subsidies ..................................................................................................72
Nordic Council Literature Prize .................................................................................73
Nordic funds ...............................................................................................................73
DEVELOPING THE BOOK TRADE ............................................................................73
Training ......................................................................................................................73
Literary art teaching ...................................................................................................73
Writer training ............................................................................................................74
Publishing training......................................................................................................74
Bookshop training ......................................................................................................74
Library training...........................................................................................................74
Joint training...............................................................................................................75
Data and research in the book trade ...........................................................................75
Statistics......................................................................................................................75
Studies and projects....................................................................................................76
Information society.....................................................................................................76
Digital products ..........................................................................................................77
The future of books ....................................................................................................80
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................80
Important events in the book trade .............................................................................82
4
INTRODUCTION
On March 31, 1999, the Ministry of Education invited Doris Stockmann, MBA, assisted by
Niklas Bengtsson, MA, and Yrjö Repo, marketing consultant, to investigate and draft a report on
the present state of the book trade and submit proposals for measures needed to strengthen the
position of books in Finland.
The aim is to present a comprehensive overview of the sector; however, a full, detailed study
was not possible. For example, copyright and printing are only discussed briefly.
The issues discussed here were debated in some twenty meetings involving organisations
representing interested parties in the book trade. Most meetings were called by the rapporteur.
The purpose of the meetings was to sound out the thoughts and wishes of the various interest
groups. The discussions were problem-oriented, but solutions to problems were also sought. In
addition to these group meetings, numerous professionals were approached or consulted.
We would like to thank all the people and organisations who spared the time and effort to help
the rapporteur and her assistants.
The original report, Kirja Suomessa — kirja-alan tukitoimet ja kehittäminen was published in
Finnish in the Cultural Policy publication series of the Ministry of Education (no. 1/2000, ISSN
1456-4645, ISBN 952-442-264-6). It includes a bibliography and a brief summary in Swedish.
The diagrams and figures published in this book were updated in 2005 and are available on the
Internet: http://www.minedu.fi/julkaisut/julkaisusarjat/KirjaSuomessa_v3.pdf
The English version of this report is a summary that excludes certain issues of only domestic
interest. The Book Trade in Finland – From author to reader – support measures and
development in the book trade, was published in 2000 in the series of Ministry of Education,
Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy as number 11/2000. In this new Internet
version the figures, tables and other information have been updated wherever possible. Some
new information, tables and figures have been added and some irrelevant information deleted.
All the figures have been converted from FIM at EUR 1 = FIM 5.9457 and are given in euros.
Helsinki, March 2006
5
DEFINING THE BOOK TRADE
For the purposes of this report, the book trade consists of all activities related to books and to
comparable digital publications: content generation, publishing and distribution, readers and
reading.
The Book
There is no unambiguous definition of what is a book. UNESCO defines a book as a “nonperiodical printed publication consisting of at least 49 pages, excluding the covers”. In the
annual statistics compiled by Suomen Kustannusyhdistys (Finnish Publishers Association,
SKY), all printed matter sold at 8% VAT is classified under the heading of books.
Another possible approach is to define all publications with an ISBN number as books. Most
book databases in Finland are constructed using the ISBN number as a unique search term. The
ISBN centre at the Helsinki University Library issues ISBN numbers in Finland.
In this report, CD-ROM and Internet publications comparable to books in terms of content have
been included in the book trade. In Finland, the most notable publishers of CD-ROMs are also
book publishers
Book classification systems
Finnish public libraries and bookshops use the Dewey Decimal System, with ten main classes (09) and various sub-classes. Class 8 is for fiction, all others for non-fiction. Children’s and
juvenile books and schoolbooks are classified according to their subject, but a letter code is
prefixed to the class number (L = children’s book, N = juvenile book, P = schoolbook for
comprehensive schools, K = schoolbook for upper secondary or vocational schools). Scientific
libraries use other classification systems, such as UDK or the Library of Congress Classification.
The general keyword list VESA, which is available to everyone over the Internet, is an important
tool for anyone classifying or searching for books. It has been translated into Swedish (Allärs —
allmän tesaurus på svenska). There is no comparable keyword list in the other Nordic countries.
BOOK PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTION
Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden until 1809 and a Grand Duchy of the Russian
Empire from 1809 to 1917. Until the late 19th century, most printed books were in Swedish, with
a considerable body of books in Latin also being printed in the 17th and 18th centuries. As a
legacy of the period of Russian rule 1809-1917, the Finnish national library has a significant
collection of books in Russian, which, especially during the Soviet period, was an invaluable
resource for scholars who had no access to the closed libraries of the Soviet Union.
6
Published titles
Because of the provisions of the Freedom of the Press Act and the Legal Deposit Act, there are
precise statistics on book production in Finland.
Table 1a. New titles published in Finland
Year
1910
1920
1930
1940
Titles
1,204
1,423
1,759
1,357
Source: Artturi Virtanen Suomen kirjakaupan ja kustannustoiminnan vaiheita Helsinki 1958
Table 1b. New titles and reprints published in Finland
Year
1950
1955
1960
Titles
1,891
2,143
1,493
Source: The Finnish Publishers Association
Table 2. New titles published in Finland 1963-2004
Year
1963
1973
1983
1993
1998
2003
2004
Fiction, domestic
179
241
281
271
289
386
386
Fiction, translated
279
213
245
303
352
313
331
Fiction total
458
454
526
574
641
699
717
Children's books, domestic
¨
¨
70
53
74
146
150
Children's books translated
¨
¨
243
326
635
570
680
Children's books total
¨
¨
313
379
709
716
830
Juvenile, domestic
¨
¨
39
58
72
67
73
Juvenile, translated
¨
¨
66
88
87
113
129
Juvenile books total
¨
¨
105
146
159
180
202
132
146
418
525
868
896
1,032
¨
49
78
46
27
30
479
513
628
1, 148
1, 543
1, 667
1, 824
1,069
1,113
1,621
2,325
3,098
3,289
3,603
Schoolbooks, comprehensive
..
..
264
169
254
290
313
Schoolbooks, upper secondary
..
..
165
117
134
Schoolbooks, other
¨
¨
323
264
300
258
314
Schoolbooks total
119
453
587
433
719
665
761
1,188
1,467
1, 566
2,028
2,208
6,386
2,758
9,027
3,817
6,826
3,954
4,364
8,355
8,613
2,655
3,594
8,594
11,785
12,887
24
35
64
73
12,309
91
12,977
95
Children & juvenile, total
Encyclopaedias
Non-fiction, other
General books, total
Members of P. Ass., total
Other publishers
Grand total
# of members in Publ.Ass.
23
Sources: Statistical Yearbooks and the Finnish Publishers Association (SKY)
In Table 2 The figures of the Finnish Publishers Association (SKY) members include only
books - the figures of the other publishers include both books as well as booklets with 49 pages
or less.Varying slightly over the years, about 80% of the books published by other than the
Finnish Publishers Association (SKY) members have been nonfiction books.
7
The number of books published by other publishers was calculated by subtracting the number of
titles reported by the Finnish Publishers Association from the total. Only the output of members
of the Finnish Publishers Association is discussed. The precise breakdown by genre of books
published by other publishers is unknown.
Fiction includes prose, poetry and plays. The published number of titles of encyclopedias means
the individual parts of different series published in that particular year - not the whole series.
In the statistics of 1963 and 1973 the children’s and juvenile books were lumped together, as
were all schoolbooks. “Other schoolbooks” includes the schoolbooks of both the upper
secondary school as well as the vocational schools in 1983 and 1993 and in 1998-2004 only the
schoolbooks of vocational schools.
The number of schoolbooks in the 1970s primarily increased because of the shift from the
parallel school system to the comprehensive school system.
The number of titles of the children’s books grew after 1993 for two reasons. After the VAT was
amended 1 June 1994, one could classify the children’s picture and activity books as books
unlike earlier. At the same time the last large children’s books publishers became members of
the Finnish Publishers Association (SKY).
Table 3. New books published by members of the Finnish Publishers Association 1978-2004
Year
Fiction, domestic
Fiction, translations
Children's books, domestic
Children's books, translations
Juvenile, domestic
Juvenile, translations
Encyclopaedias
Other non-fiction
Schoolbooks,
comprehensive
Schoolbooks,
upper secondary
Schoolbooks, other
Schoolbooks, total
1978
61
64
58
81
60
71
¨
¨
68
1988
54
57
61
75
49
42
41
63
57
1998
60
58
69
75
84
70
70
65
66
2000
60
58
50
82
68
61
38
69
68
2002
58
51
52
73
59
58
61
65
63
2003
59
54
56
76
66
66
29
66
64
2004
52
51
53
80
73
57
73
63
62
31
27
25
22
24
25
29
¨
30
32
24
24
27
¨
35
52
48
33
55
52
33
57
43
30
53
45
30
54
48
34
55
¨
33
Grand total
55
Table 4. Domestic new titles published by members of Finnish Publishers Association, SKY
1978-2004
Year
1978
1988
1998
2000
2002
2003
2004
Fiction
32
33
31
29
47
28
28
Poetry and drama
12
14
19
8
14
12
9
Children’s books
15
15
9
5
17
13
9
7
6
3
2
9
4
7
Juvenile
8
Figure 1. Fiction, titles published 1963-2004 including new titles and reprints
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
641
526
458
454
527
651
721
633
574
671
699
717
443
04
20
03
20
02
20
01
20
00
20
99
19
98
19
19
93
88
19
83
19
78
19
73
19
19
19
68
327
63
Titles
Fiction, tiles published
VAT was lowered from 22% to 12% on 1 June 1994 and from 12 % to 8 % on 1 January 1998
and seems to have had some impact on the number of titles published.
Figure 2. Children's books, new titles published 1963-2004
Children's books, titles published
1 200
1061
Titles
1 000
868
800
578
600
418
917
1003 959
1032
896
525
413
400
200
132
114
146
19
63
19
68
19
73
19
78
19
83
19
88
19
93
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
0
In the VAT reform of 1994, children’s picture books, baby books and activity books were
classified as books, which was previously not the case.
9
Figure 3. Non-fiction, new titles published 1963-2004
2 000
1 800
1 600
1 400
1 200
1 000
800
600
400
200
0
1 589
1 723 1 793 1 798 1 692 1 694
1 854
1 226
1 002
479
451
513
549
677
19
63
19
68
19
73
19
78
19
83
19
88
19
93
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
Titles
Non-fiction, titles published
In the early 1970s, the number of non-fiction titles increased due to the large body of opinionforming books prompted by social changes in the previous decade. In the late 1980s, there was a
considerable increase in the number of computer books published. The VAT reform of 1994
increased non-fiction publishing too. Growth in the late 1990s was spurred by continued
economic growth and by books on the Internet and the information society.
Figure 4. Schoolbooks, new titles published 1963-2004
Schoolbooks, titles published
766
800
719
657
700
761
725
644
665
587
600
453
500
Titles
787
457
433
400
300
200
216
119
100
0
1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
The number of titles increased in the 1970s due to the introduction of the comprehensive school
system and in the 1980s due to the conversion of the upper secondary school into course-form
10
teaching. Changes in the curriculum have also impacted the number of schoolbook titles
published.
Figure 5. New titles published in Finland 1963-2000
Publ. Ass.
New titles published in Finland
Other
14000
12000
titles
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: Statistics Finland, Yearbooks and the Finnish Publishers Association
Table 5. Finnish titles available, by publisher
Publishers
Titles/publisher
1000500-999
200-499
50-199
10-49
1-9
Total
1999
8
12
26
101
385
4, 455
4, 987
2001
2005
7
10
23
108
392
4,432
4,972
9
9
24
124
438
4,942
5,546
Source: Kirjavälitys Oy files, September 1999, January 2002 and September 2005
Table 5 shows that the number of big publishers with more than 1,000 titles has grown while
that of medium sized publishers has decreased because of mergers,
The number of the available domestic book titles in September 1999 was about 62,000 and at the
end of December 2001 67,000. 65,000 titles were available on 5 September 2005 of which 6,311
were in Swedish. The numbers of titles are based on the information received from the
publishers concerning which titles are available in stock and which are available through the
bookshops.
Finns buy a variety of books. For example, the book wholesaler, Kirjavälitys, delivered 52,189
books to bookshops just before Christmas, 17 December 2001, comprising 4,232 different titles.
About half were titles, which sold over one hundred copies. Two thirds, on the other hand, were
those of which less than five copies were delivered.
11
In October 2004, a comparison was made of the composition of book sales in two bookshops. A
small bookshop in the country sold at least one copy of each of 391 book titles during the month,
and a medium-sized bookshop in a medium-sized town sold at least one copy of each of 527
titles.
Table 6. Books translated from various languages into Finnish 1980-2003
1980
1985
Original
447
520
English
167
124
Swedish
84
96
German
48
43
French
26
22
Norwegian
47
26
Russian
16
11
Italian
21
10
Danish
3
6
Spanish
100
48
Other
959
906
Total
46.6
57.4
Engl. %
Source: Cultural statistics 2003
1990
940
184
128
92
34
40
28
30
20
67
1 563
60.1
1995
1 196
213
135
105
22
20
40
29
16
81
1 857
64.4
2000
1 433
186
128
111
18
21
29
29
25
126
2 106
68.0
2001
1 219
177
131
125
19
27
17
16
18
113
1 862
65.5
2002
1 301
201
111
109
21
18
17
14
19
117
1 928
67.5
2003
1 182
233
90
110
54
26
33
8
19
132
1 887
62.6
Figure 6. Books translated into Finnish 1980-2003
Translated books
2500
Books
2000
Other
French
1500
German
Swedish
1000
English
500
0
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2001
2002
2003
Source: Cultural Statistics 2003
The status of English has risen constantly over the period examined. A booklet is a printed
publication with fewer than 49 pages — according to the UNESCO definition, such publications
are not books.
12
Table 7. Literature translated into Swedish in Finland 1980-2003, by original language
Original
language
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2001
2002
2003
51
86
103
105
78
74
84
78
Finnish
1
2
2
1
3
3
1
1
English
4
1
6
3
7
1
4
1
Other
56
89
111
109
88
78
89
80
Total
Source: Cultural Statistics 2003
Table 8. Translated literature published in the Nordic countries 1997, 1999 and 2003 by
original language
Swedish
Danish
Norwegian *
Finnish
Icelandic **
English
Scandinavian
German
French
Other languages
% % % % % % % %
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
-97 -99 -03 -97 -99 -03 -97 -99 -03 -97 -99 -03 -97 -99 -03
76 74 73
9 10 10
4
4
3
5
6
4
6
6
10
68 70 70 15 13 15
6
7
5
5
4
6
6
6
6
71 73 66 16 14 19
4
4
4
3
3
3
6
6
8
67 69 63 14 11 16
6
7
5
5
5
6
8
8
10
51 57 58 23 23 23
3
2
4
4
4
4 19 14
11
Continued
Translated titles
#
#
1997
#
1999
2003
Swedish
2,511
2,514
2,542
Danish
2,694
3,287
2,752
Norwegian*
1,960
1,901
2,220
1,847
2,211
Finnish
1,887
Icelandic**
393
405
445
* Preliminary data
** The latest Icelandic statistics are from 2000. Sagas translated from ancient Icelandic are
included in translations into Icelandic from other languages
Source: Nordcom (Statistics Denmark, Helsinki University Library, National and University
Library of Iceland/Statistics Iceland, National Library of Norway/Medianorway, Royal LibraryNational Library of Sweden)
Scandinavian languages are Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, about 80 % of books
translated into Finnish from Scandinavian languages are from Swedish the second biggest is
from Norwegian and is currently a little over 15 %. There has been a boom in translated thrillers
from both Swedish and Norwegian.
In Denmark, translations from Scandinavian languages include books translated from Faroese. In
Iceland, translations from ‘other languages’ include translations of sagas from Norse; these
account for over 10% of all translated titles.
English is the dominant source language in all countries, though its share is lowest in Finland
and Iceland.
13
The life cycle of books
The life cycle of a book from the perspective of the greater public can be measured by how long
the book is available in any well-equipped bookshop immediately or by ordering. The
continuous availability does not alone depend on how old the book is, but on its demand and on
the publisher. If there is sufficient demand, the book will live for a long time in the form of new
editions.
Normally general books are available for 3 years after that they are put on sale by the publisher.
The Print-on-Demand technique has made it easy to publish new editions of books. However,
books first published decades ago are generally available only randomly in antiquarian book
shops, or in libraries. A handful of domestic classics are the exception to this rule. A new trend
has been that Finnish publishers recently have increased the number of paperbacks published. A
bookshop may not stock all available books, but can order them for a customer and deliver them
in a couple of days.
The availability of a book will become limited, but does not stop when the publisher announces
it to be sold out. It can be bought in a used book shop or borrowed from the library. Once a book
is printed it will not completely disappear because many copies were originally printed, at least
in the hundreds and the deposit system consisting of 6 copies of new books and other published
material that are distributed to various libraries also guarantees the availability of all book titles
published in Finland. . There are, however, books, which may be destroyed, for example, for
reasons connected to the quality of the paper or other technical reasons. Likewise, there are some
books of which only a few copies are known to exist. It is considered important to preserve such
books in readable condition, for example, for researchers.
One solution to preserving the content of books is to transfer into digital form. Only the National
Library so far digitalises old books in Finland.
Classics
The availability of classic titles is affected by in two ways. Either a print run has been sold out,
or a certain classic has not been translated into Finnish. Classics are constantly published in both
Finnish and Swedish even though this is often not commercially viable. There are some
translation grants available for translations that publishers may apply for.
Bestsellers
Bestsellers are heavily marketed and given the best locations in bookshops; they decrease the
shelf space available for other titles. In terms of volume, the top dozen or so bestsellers may
account for a larger proportion of total books sold than in the 1960s. Still, the number of titles
published and in print has constantly increased. Revenue from bestsellers has been used to cover
the costs of titles with low sales projections.
A Finnish publisher cannot concentrate on bestsellers alone. While it is possible to select only
successful foreign titles for translation, only a few Finnish authors attain widespread success
with their first books.
14
BOOK CREATORS
Authors
According to a generally accepted definition, an author is someone who has published at least
two works. Finlands Svenska Författareförening (Society of Swedish Authors in Finland, FSF),
Suomen Kirjailijaliitto (Union of Finnish Writers, SKL), Suomen Nuorisokirjailijat (Association
of Finnish Writers for Children and Youth, SNK) and Suomen Näytelmäkirjailijaliitto (Finnish
Society of Dramatists, SNKL) state in their membership requirements that an applicant will
generally be expected to have published two works of fiction that fulfil the quality criteria of the
organisations.
The membership requirements of Suomen Tietokirjailijat (Society for Non-Fiction Authors,
STK) are not as stringent as those of the fiction-oriented associations. One published work
qualifies for membership of the STK; this work may be a dictionary, a schoolbook or a work of
non-fiction for the general public. The work does not even have to be a printed book; a CDROM or a cassette is equally valid. Photographers are not classified as non-fiction authors except
as a member of an encyclopaedia committee.
Translators
In Suomen Kääntäjien ja Tulkkien Liitto (Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters,
SKTL), translators of both fiction and non-fiction belong to the same section.
Graphic designers and illustrators
In this context, by ‘graphic designers’ we mean actual graphic designers and layout designers,
not graphic artists. Different studies place graphic designers and illustrators variously in fine arts,
in crafts and design or outside the arts community altogether. In the Finnish grant system,
graphic designers and illustrators have been regarded as belonging to crafts and design ever since
the National Council for Crafts and Design was founded. Illustrators can belong to three unions
in Finland: Grafia, Freelance graphics designers or Illustrators ry founded in 2002.
Comics creators
Comics creators include those who draw, write, translate and letter comics. Grants to comics
creators have largely fallen within the purview of the National Council for Crafts and Design
since the early 1990s.
To qualify for membership of Sarjakuvantekijät (Comics creators), applicants must practice
creating comics professionally or as their own business. The membership requirements state that
graphic designers and writers must have published at least one album, translators must have
published at least two albums, and letterers must have produced three albums or a comparable
volume of newspaper strips.
15
PUBLISHERS
The first book publishers in Finland were, in the 17th century, the Academy (University) of
Turku, the Dioceses of Turku and Viipuri, and Bishop Johannes Gezelius the Elder of Turku.
Book publishing began in earnest in Finland in the early 19th century. Finland’s oldest existing
publisher, Suomen Pipliaseura, was founded in 1812. Another old existing publisher,
Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (Finnish Literature Society), was founded in 1831. In 1858,
nineteen publishers founded the Finnish Publishers Association to promote the publishing and
distribution of books in Finland.
Publishers today
In 2005 the Finnish Publishers Association had 100 members. All major commercial publishers
belong to the Publishers Association. They account for about 33 % of new titles and 50% of all
titles published in Finland and for about 90 % of the sales volume. In 2004 the share of the book
sales of the ten largest publishers of the Publishers Association members in euros was 80.5 %
and 79.5% of the number of copies sold.
The publisher register maintained by the ISBN centre at the Helsinki University Library contains
some 4,600 publishers. In addition, 1,000-1,500 individual ISBN codes are annually granted to
private individuals and small organisations “for one-time use”.
Major publishers
The biggest book publisher in Finland measured by the extensiveness of the operations, as well
as by turnover, is SanomaWSOY Group. Its operations consist of publishing and delivering
newspapers, publishing and printing magazines, publishing and printing books, electronic
communications, retailing and cinema activities. The share of the book publishing activities in
the group’s turnover in 2004 was about 10 %. The group publishes text books in addition to
Finland also in the Netherlands and Poland.
Most of the book publishing is concentrated in the subgroup built around WSOY, founded in
1878, which in addition to book publishing, also is involved in printing and book club activities.
Starting from 1 January schoolbooks will be a separate division.
Part of the publishing activities of children´s and juvenile books of SanomaWSOY and book
club activities connected with it, including books based on Walter Disney characters, takes place
within the framework of Sanoma Magazines Finland.
In addition to book publishing and printing, as well as book club activities, Otava-Kuvalehdet
Oy publishes and prints magazines. Otava, founded in 1890, is responsible for book publishing
in the group.
Gummerus founded in 1872 as a publishing company has book publishing and book printing
departments. Apart from the dictionaries and books connected with language studies, Gummerus
does not publish textbooks as such, but concentrates on general literature.
16
Tammi Group is part of Bonnier Media Group and includes two smaller publishing houses as
well as a children’s book club in addition to the main publisher Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi.
The turnover is almost entirely from book publishing.
Valitut Palat - Reader´s Digest is part of the Reader’s Digest Group and publishes Valitut Palat
magazine, as well as books and music recordings, in Finland.
The largest Finnish Swedish publishing houses are Schildts and Söderström & C:o, with Schildts
also publishing books in Finnish. Söderström & C:o co-owns, with some Finnish culture funds,
Atlantis publishers in Sweden and the owner of Schildts partly owns Alfabeta publisher in
Sweden.
Other publishers
Non-commercial publishers publish two thirds of the annual new book titles, but most of the
publications are such that they are not actively marketed. The publishers include universities,
polytechnics, public administration units, research institutions and private associations. Not to
mention self-publishing by private individuals.
Challenges for Finnish Publishers’
The potential market is small – about five million Finnish speakers and 300,000 with Swedish as
their mother tongue. All Finns over the age of 7 can, however, read books, newspapers and
magazines. According to the research Suomi lukee (Finland reads) 2003 86 % of the 15-74 yearold Finns had during the past four weeks read books and 75% had during the past 12 months
bought at least one book. Publishers have also been able to adjust their operations to the
opportunities a small language area can offer.
The largest Finnish publishers are today multifaceted media companies. This can be seen as a
problem – does book publishing get enough attention inside the company? On the other hand, it
can be seen as strength – as synergy brought on by the know how of multifaceted content
production and its distribution.
The field of publishers is not static but alive. During the past twenty years, several new
publishing houses have been established. At the same time small but growing publishing houses
have been incorporated into bigger ones. By incorporation the larger one has generally been
looking for growth and the smaller one has obtained additional resources which a growing
business particularly needs. Only one large publishing house, Tammi, has moved to foreign
ownership. On the other hand, WSOY has also branched out abroad, especially its textbook
publishing operations.
Publishers are worried about the decline of reading by and to children, which can detract from
their readiness to read books when they grow up. In the 1990s, the trend seemed to be that
adolescents read less fiction than before. On the other hand, studies have not shown conclusively
that literacy has declined or that the overall volume of reading has decreased. For example,
according to the research Suomi lukee (Finland reads) 15-19 year-olds bought and also
presumably read more books in 2003 than in 1995 or 1989. In this age group, the number of
those who bought more than 10 books a year had clearly grown and the number of those who did
17
not buy any books at all had decreased. Suomi lukee research does not reach those under 15, but
according to some other media user studies, even their reading interests have not significantly
decreased.
Library acquisitions have been important for minor publishers, in terms of both purchases and
publicity, and the decrease in book acquisition funds in the 1990s has had a severe impact on
them. Such publishers, particularly those publishing in Swedish, consider bestseller-oriented
marketing and sales to be a threat to the availability of a broad range of titles. Minor publishers
have found it increasingly difficult to get bookshops to stock their titles in recent years.
Because of the small language areas print-runs of books published are small see Tables 9 and 10.
The print-runs of books published in Swedish are much smaller than those in Finnish.
Table 9. Average print runs of new books published 1994, 1999 and 2004
Category
Fiction, domestic
Fiction, translated
Poetry and drama, domestic
Poetry and drama, translated
Childrens' books, domestic
Childrens' books, translated
Juvenile, domestic
Non-fiction
Total
1994
3,520
6,272
1,500
1,250
6,016
5,992
3,676
3,979
3,347
4,035
1999
3,753
5,434
1,364
1,688
3,492
8,806
3,918
4,823
2,925
4,574
2004
3,742
4,156
1,347
1,294
4,073
8,032
3,863
2,992
2,716
4,045
Table 10. Average print runs of new editions 1994, 1999 and 2004
Category
Fiction, domestic
Fiction, translated
Poetry and drama, domestic
Poetry and drama, translated
Children’s books, domestic
Children’s books, translated
Juvenile, domestic
Non-fiction
Total
1994
3 302
3 464
2 667
1 500
3 833
4 702
2 696
3 094
4 473
3 946
1999
2 975
3 357
2 077
1 667
3 492
5 305
1 941
4 028
2 681
3 176
2004
1 845
1 721
1 467
250
3 099
4 214
2 111
2 144
3 073
2 694
Although titles published by members of the Finnish Publishers Association only account for
55% of new titles published, they account for 90% of all Finnish books sold.
Published Finnish titles in international comparison
Literature has had a major impact on Finnish culture. All adults in Finland are literate; public
libraries have a wide selection of books and charge no fees for borrowing. Literature is available
to everyone, even those who do not want to or cannot afford to buy books.
18
Figure 7a. Published titles per 1000 inhabitants in 1999
Published book titles per 1,000 inhabitants
7
6.6
6
5
4
2.7
3
2.6
2.6
2.3
1.9
2
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.2
1.2
1.1
1
1.1
1.0
1.0
ai
n
Sw
ed
en
*
Be
lg
Cz
iu
ec
m
h
*
Re
pu
bl
ic
No
rw
ay
Li
th
ua
ni
a
Hu
ng
ar
y
Au
st
ria
*
Sp
Lu
xe
m
bo
ur
g
*
*
UK
ia
Es
to
n
nl
an
d
Fi
m
ar
Sw
k
it z
er
la
nd
De
n
Ic
el
an
d
*
0
Continued
Figure 7b. Published titles per 1000 inhabitants in 1999
Published book titles per 1,000 inhabitants
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.5 0.5 0,5 0.4 0.4
0.4 0.3 0.2
0.2 0.1
G
Ne er
th ma
n
er
la y *
nd
s
*1
La )
Po t vi
rtu a
ga
l
Fr *
a
Bu nc
lg e
ar
i
Sl a *
ov
ak
ia
I
Be taly
la
ru
s
Cr *
oa
ti
Po a
la
n
G d
r
e
M
ac e ce
ed
on
Ro ia
m
an
i
M
ol a
do
Ru v a
ss
ia
*
US
A
Uk
*
ra
in
e
0
Source: Finnish Mass Media 2004 Statistics Finland
DISTRIBUTORS AND WHOLESALERS
The main distributor and wholesaler in Finland is Kirjavälitys Oy, a wholesaler jointly owned by
publishers and bookshops. Booksellers can order books from all regular publishers in Finland
from Kirjavälitys.. The database of Kirjavälitys Oy, contains nearly 100,000 titles, while the
range of titles in stock runs to some 22,000. Over 65,000 of the titles in the register are Finnish
books. The rest comprises calendars, maps, sheet music, audiovisual products and CD-ROMs.
Kirjavälitys collaborates with the Helsinki University Library in maintaining the FinnBooks
19
database, which is discussed below on page 32. The customer register of Kirjavälitys contains
about 4,900 book suppliers, and in 2004 the company bought books from about 3,000 publishers.
The company handles about 30% of all books sold in Finland. Book sales account for 90% of its
turnover, the rest comprising sales of maps, calendars, CD-ROMs and services.
A publisher and a bookshop can obtain special services as required, for instance distributing
campaign purchases and price marking products..
Other distributors are WSOY Kirjakeskus, which primarily supplies books by publishers
belonging to WSOY Group and Tammi Group and KustannusTaito Förlagssystem Finland
Ab, which supplies mainly books by Swedish language publishers.
BOOKSHOPS AND OTHER COMPANIES SELLING BOOKS
Until 1970, nearly all books except for encyclopaedias were sold by bookshops. The fixed-price
system for books was dismantled and the sale of books deregulated in 1971. Department stores
and supermarkets made up most of the new sales points. The number of sales points for books
peaked in the mid 1970s.
Number of bookshops
A ‘bookshop’ has been defined in various ways at different times, but the number of general
bookshops (also considered bookshops by customers) has progressed as follows:
Table 11. Bookshops in Finland 1859-2005
1859
1900
1950
Year
16
56
624
Bookshops
Source: The Finnish Booksellers Association
1965
788
1990
423
2000
358
2002
319
2005
318
Table 12. Bookshops in Finland in 2005
Group
Info bookshops
Kipa bookshops
Kirja-Q bookshops
Unaffiliated
Suomalainen Kirjakauppa
Akateeminen Kirjakauppa
S-kirjakaupat
Total
Ownership
Independent
Independent
Independent
Independent
Chain
Chain
Co-operative
Bookshops
44
63
13
93
61
6
38
318
Staff
approx.
300
130
30
150
800
400
50
1870
Turnover
2004
million €
60
16
6
12
130
90
16
330
Share of
Books %
approx.
60
55
60
50
70
70
60
67
The number of bookshops has declined in the 1980s and 1990s, but no more so than in any other
specialist trade. Further decrease, while not desirable, is probable. At present, most general
bookshops are members of the Kirjakauppaliitto (Booksellers Association).
20
The oldest specialist bookshops are the Christian bookshops, of which there are 28 in 25 small
and medium-sized towns. Of the other 102 specialist bookshops carrying a limited selection,
61are in the Helsinki Metropolitan area; the rest are distributed over 18 locations. Most specialist
bookshops have a low turnover.
Printel dominates the market for comprehensive school schoolbooks with a market share of
about 50 %. BTJ Kirjastopalvelu, which mainly provides information systems, furniture and
other equipment for libraries, is also one of the largest suppliers of books to libraries. Since
2004 this company has been one of the biggest sellers of comprehensive schoolbooks.
Finland has about 60 antiquarian book shops of which earn more than half of their turnover from
books. Antiquarian book shops are usually small companies with one or two employees.
Book clubs
There are about 12-16 book clubs in Finland depending on how a book club is defined. In 2005
they had about 600,000 members. If one eliminates double members it is estimated that some
500,000 Finns belong to at least one book club.
All major book clubs are owned by publishers or their subsidiaries. However, the big clubs sell
books from several publishers. In 2004 the book clubs sold 49 million euros (at consumer
prices including VAT) worth of books, which is 9.9% of book sales.
The biggest book clubs are Suuri Suomalainen Kirjakerho (The Big Finnish Book Club), the
oldest one founded in 1969, which is a subsidiary of Otava and Uudet Kirjat –kerho (The New
Book Club) which is a department of WSOY. These two book clubs have over 50% of the book
club sales.
Encyclopaedia sellers
Encyclopaedias are, in practice, sold at a fixed price. Over 90% of them are sold by independent
or telemarketing companies and book representatives employed by publishers. Bookshops have
never been a significant player in the sales of encyclopaedias in Finland. As far as we know,
sales of encyclopaedias per capita have been and still are higher in Finland than anywhere else in
the world.
Internet bookshops
In December 2005, there is one general bookshop in Finland which sells books only through the
Internet. All major bookshops and bookshop chains, as well as several special bookshops and
used book shops, also sell through the Internet. Other important sellers are book clubs and
publishers.
According to the information available the sales of printed books on the Internet in Finland in
2004 was 15-20 million euros calculated in the consumer prices with VAT included, 3-4% of
the total book sales.
21
The sales structure and profitability of bookshops
The number of bookshops has, from the beginning of the 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s,
decreased and in 1999 the bookshops´ share of the book sales was only about 35.6%. Even
though the number of bookshops has continued to decrease, their market share has, however,
started to grow. Beginning in 2000 the book sales of bookshops has grown quicker than the total
book sales and in 2004 their share of the bookshop sales had risen to 39.1 %.
The share of books in bookshop turnover was 55% in 1997, but in 2004 had risen to 67 %.
Bookshops in Finland have books as their major product line with the second biggest product
line being stationary. Small bookshops may have other product lines like cosmetics, toys, photos
etc.
Table 13. Sales structure of bookshops1998-2004 by turnover categories
Turnover:
Year
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
below 170 000 €
Books
Other
52
48
50
50
50
50
53
47
46
54
50
50
53
47
170 000 – 350 000 €
Books
Other
60
40
60
40
58
42
58
42
58
42
56
44
59
41
350 000 - 600 000 €
Books
Other
59
41
61
39
58
42
57
43
62
38
57
43
59
41
Turnover:
Year
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
600 000 – 1 350 000 €
Books
Other
50
50
55
45
57
43
60
40
60
40
62
38
62
38
above 1 350 000 €
Books
Other
55
45
57
43
59
41
61
39
65
35
66
34
68
32
Books
55
57
58
60
64
65
67
Total
Other
45
43
42
40
36
35
33
Source: Report by Statistics Finland for the Finnish Booksellers Association
The profitability of bookshops has been systematically researched since 1994. With the share of
books in turnover growing, the gross margin of the bookshops has also improved. The most
obvious reason for the development is that the bookshops have lost low margin sales like those
to libraries and comprehensive schoolbooks to municipalities. At the same time, shop sales have
grown and the bookshops have improved their pricing strategies. Even though the bestsellers are
sold with rather a small margin, the gross margin of other books has been improved. The
Finnish Booksellers Association currently estimates that the gross margin for books and other
products is about the same.
The bookshop purchase price is often based on a discount on the publisher’s recommended price;
this discount generally depends on the number of copies purchased at a time. The recommended
price is not mandatory. Some publishers sell at net prices and it is up to the bookseller to price
the book. Because of the tough price competition, the largest-volume sales (bestsellers and
library sales) have the lowest profitability. There is virtually no profit margin in selling
schoolbooks for comprehensive schools, and most bookshops have in fact dropped them.
22
Products other than books are purchased at net price. The producer or importer sets no
recommended price, and the consumer prices for these products are also not as stable as those of
books.
The Booksellers Association commissions an annual study on the profitability of bookshops. For
a specialist shop to be profitable, its operating margin should be at least 10%. Only about one
quarter of all bookshops manage this.
Table 14. Most frequently used profitability indicators in the book trade 1994-2003
Gross margin %
Year
Lower
quartile
Median
Upper
quartile
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
23.9
24.3
23,1
22.0
22.8
23.2
22.0
23.5
23.5
24.9
27.3
26.6
26.0
26.3
27.0
27.6
27.0
27.5
28.7
28.9
31.5
31.6
30.9
31.4
32.4
33.1
31.9
32.7
33.2
35.1
Operating margin %
Total
Lower
quartile
Median
Upper
quartile
Total
27.6
27.9
28.2
28.1
32.4
29.4
30.3
30.8
31.4
32.0
2.0
3.0
2.6
3.3
3.5
2.9
2.8
2.7
3.6
2.9
5.3
6.4
7.2
6.6
6.9
6.7
6.1
6.3
6.6
7.3
10.6
12.2
11.8
11.6
11.4
11.0
10.8
10.4
11.4
11.4
4.3
5.6
5.7
6.0
5.8
6.1
6.7
7.0
7.4
7.5
# of
book
-shops
166
171
166
171
176
176
172
167
169
162
The gross margin is the difference between the actual purchase price and the actual sales price.
The operating margin is the gross margin less all expenses except financing expenses, financing
income and direct taxes.
Table 15. Medians of indicators in the book trade 1994–2003
Year
No. of
bookshops
Turnover
1 000 €
Gross
margin %
Operating
margin %
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
166
171
166
171
176
176
172
167
168
162
225.4
228.8
228.8
225.4
232.1
227.1
237.2
236.6
241.1
243.9
27.3
26.6
26.0
26.3
27.0
27.6
27.0
27.5
28.7
28.9
5.3
6.4
7.2
6.6
6.9
6.7
6.1
6.3
6.6
7.3
Degree of
selfsufficiency
%
19.2
18.1
35.3
35.5
30.4
34.3
34.0
38.7
41.7
42.0
Stock
turnover
Quick
Ratio
3.5
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.8
4.1
4.0
4.2
4.1
4.0
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.5
23
BOOK SALES
Data on book sales in Finland are based on the annual Finnish Publishers Association statistics,
which cover about 85% of overall book sales. The volume of sales by publishers not belonging
to the Finnish Book Publishers Association is estimated at 2 million copies, while foreign books
are estimated to sell 1 million copies; the grand total is thus about 30 million books.
Table 16. Copies of books sold by members of the Finnish Book Publishers Association
1963-2004 in 1000s
Year
Fiction
Children & Juvenile
Encyclopaedias
Non-fiction
Lower grade schoolbooks
Upper level schoolbooks
Other schoolbooks
Schoolbooks, total
Grand total
# of publishers participating
1963
2,816
1,097
¨
2,427
6,340
¨
¨
1973
3,628
1,733
¨
4,131
9,492
¨
¨
5,530
11,870
23
12,653
22,145
24
1983
3,496
2,778
¨
4,486
11,578
8,177
..
3,465
11,642
23,220
35
1993
3,801
2,876
948
5,807
13,432
3,877
..
2,456
6,333
19,765
64
1998
4,601
7,266
503
6,500
18,870
4,297
1,845
1,204
7,346
26,216
73
2003
4,456
7,557
338
7,322
19,673
4,405
1,615
790
6,810
26,484
91
2004
5,015
7,377
266
7,544
20,202
4,407
1,448
696
6,551
26,753
95
Source: Annual statistics of the Finnish Publishers Association
Paperbacks
Books classified as paperbacks have long been published in Finland, but their visibility in the
book market essentially improved when the four large publishers - Gummerus, Otava, Tammi
and WSOY –founded Taskukirja Loisto in 2001. Loisto started to publish paperbacks, in
accordance with the international standard, of the earlier published, bestselling hardbacks. The
purpose was to quickly increase the number of available paperback titles and to create a real
paperback market in Finland. In addition to Loisto, both other shareholders in it and other
publishers also publish paperbacks in their own name.
In the annual statistics of the Finnish Publishing Association the statistics on paperbacks have
been compiled separately since 2002. Accurate information is unavailable from previous years,
but an estimated 700,000 copies of paperbacks were sold in 2000 and about one million copies in
2001.
Table 17. Paperbacks sold 2002-2004
Published titles
Sales in 1,000 copies
2002
303
1,290
2003
234
1,321
Source: Annual statistics of the Finnish Publishers Association
2004
307
1,409
24
Figure 8. Number of copies by the members of the Finnish Book Publishers Association 19632004
Sales of books in 1,000 copies
30 000
1,000 copies
25 000
20 000
15 000
10 000
5 000
Schoolbooks
Non-fiction
0
1963 1973 1983 1988 1993 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Children's books
Fiction
Finland underwent a severe depression in the early 1990s, which was at its worst in 1993.
However, the depression significantly affected only public, mainly municipal, book acquisitions.
Purchases of comprehensive schoolbooks nearly halved and acquisitions to public libraries
decreased significantly. Book purchases by consumers were hardly reduced. Also the number of
books borrowed from the public libraries stayed the same, even though new titles were no longer
as quickly available.
Lowering the VAT rates on books on 1 June 1994 also stimulated other book sales, but the sales
of children’s and juvenile books grew strongly in particular, as the lower VAT rates changed the
fact that the picture books, baby books and activity books, which had been sold earlier as paper
products, were now categorised as books. The sales growth was also affected by the start of the
upswing in the economy.
The comprehensive school reform in the 1970s introduced schoolbooks in new subjects and
changed the structure of schoolbooks. The number of separate books has since been reduced for
both pedagogical and financial reasons. The temporary increase in sales of books for upper
secondary school in the early 1980s was due to the shift to course-form upper secondary school
and the concurrent curriculum revision. More books than usual were needed in the transition
phase.
25
Figure 9. Number of copies sold by the members of the Finnish Book Publishers Association
1963-2004
Other schoolbooks
Sale of schoolbooks in 1,000 copies
Comprehensive level
16 000
1,000 copies
14 000
12 000
10 000
8 000
6 000
4 000
2 000
0
1978
1983
1988
1993
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Sales in terms of money
At the request of the Booksellers Association, Statistics Finland has surveyed the volume of
book sales at consumer prices (including VAT) per distribution channel for 1997-2000. The
figures include all books, even foreign books sold in bookshops.
Figure 10. Sales of books by distribution channel at retail prices including VAT
Sales of books in 2004 (496 million €)
Other
9%
Antiquarian
bookshops
1%
Bookshops
39%
Book clubs
10%
Specialised
stores
10%
Department
stores,
supermarkets etc.
14%
Publishers'
direct sales
17%
Source: The Finnish Booksellers Association and Statistics Finland
26
Table 18. Book sales by distribution channel at consumer prices incl. VAT 1997-2004
Distribution channel
Bookshops
Department stores &
supermarkets
Other retail sales
Retail sales, total
Specialised distributors
Direct sales by publishers
Book clubs
Other direct sales
Direct sales & book clubs
Other distribution channels
New book sales
Antiquarian & second hand
bookshops
Total book sales
1997
142,750
1999
147,900
2001
168,700
39,800
40,400
14,500
197,050
35,600
87,000
41,900
2,400
131,300
19,250
383,200
2002
177,500
2003
182,500
2004
194,100
44,000
41,200
43,000
48,200
22,900
211,200
44,800
78,600
46,200
7,400
132,200
22,000
410,200
23,700
236,400
51,600
76,200
50,700
8,000
134,900
25,300
448,200
25,100
243,800
58,300
83,600
48,300
7,100
139,000
27,200
468,300
24,200
249,700
55,300
85,300
46,600
3,800
135,700
32,300
473,000
23,300
265,600
51,700
85,100
49,000
5,800
139,900
31,500
488,700
4,350
5,000
5,200
5,700
6,200
7,300
387,550
415,200
453,400
1.5
474,000
479,200
1.1
496,000
3.5
4.7
4.5
Change from previous year %
Table 19. Book sales by distribution channel at consumer prices incl. VAT – market share
1997-2004
Distribution channel
Bookshops
Department stores &
supermarkets
Other retail sales
Retail sales, total
Specialised distributors
Direct sales by publishers
Book clubs
Other direct sales
Direct sales & book clubs
Other distribution channels
New book sales
Antiquarian & second hand
bookshops
Total book sales
1997
36.8
1999
35.6
2001
37.2
2002
37.4
2003
38.1
2004
39.1
10.2
9.7
9.7
8.7
9.0
9.7
5.7
52.7
9.4
22.4
10.8
0.7
33.9
4.9
98.8
8.8
54.1
10.8
18.9
11.1
1.8
31.8
5.3
98.7
8.2
55.1
11.4
16.7
11.1
1.8
29.8
5.6
98.9
8.5
54.6
12.3
17.5
10.1
1.5
29.3
5.8
98.8
8.0
55.1
11.5
17.8
9.7
0.8
28.3
6.7
98.7
7.5
56.3
10.4
17.2
9.9
1.1
28.2
6.4
98.4
1.2
1.3
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Fixed-price system
Finland has free pricing in the book trade, meaning that while the publisher can set a
recommended price for a book; a retailer is free to sell that book at any price he wishes.
Many European countries follow the retail price maintenance system, or fixed-price system,
where retailers are obliged to sell books at the prices determined by the publishers. See Table 14.
27
The fixed-price system was introduced in Finland with the bookshop regulations of 1908, and
was abandoned at the beginning of 1971. This was due to the competition legislation enacted in
the 1960s, whereby the determination of consumer prices was transferred from the producer to
the retailer.
Book trade organisations in other countries hoped that Sweden and Finland would reintroduce
the fixed-price system when joining the EU. Before accession, the Finnish Publishers
Association and Booksellers Association analysed the pros and cons of the fixed price system by
gathering data on the possible impact of the system on the number of titles published and book
sales, and any other effects it might have.
It was found at the time that returning to the fixed-price system was not a realistic option. The
bookshops and publishers voiced their opinion at a meeting with representatives of the Ministry
of Education. The Society for Non-Fiction Authors (Suomen Tietokirjailijat) was in favour of
free pricing, while the Union of Finnish Writers (Suomen Kirjailijaliitto) and the Society of
Swedish Authors in Finland (Finlands Svenska Författareförening) preferred the fixed-price
system.
Statistics show that the number of titles published and the volume of books sold have increased
in Finland since deregulation. Some of this increase may be due to technical statistical reasons,
but evidently there has been some actual growth.
Table 20. Free and fixed prices on books in some countries in Europe
FIXED PRICES
Law
Austria
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
The Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
FIXED PRICES
Year of
Adoption
2000
1981
2002
1997
2001
2005
1996
1975
FREE PRICES
Agreement
Denmark 1)
Hungary
Luxembourg
Norway
Slovenia
Source: European Booksellers Federation
1) free prices are being discussed
2) Officially, trade agreement. In practice free market
3) The possibility of getting an RPM is being considered
4) The possibility of getting an RPM is being considered
5) German speaking part
Belgium 2)
Cyprus
Czech Republic 3)
Estonia
Finland
Iceland
Ireland
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland 4)
Sweden
Switzerland 5)
UK
28
The effect on Finnish bookshops of abandoning the fixed-price system
In 2004 books comprised 67% of the turnover of the bookshops and good 60% of the gross
margin. Because of the tough competition between the bookshops, as well as against the other
distribution channels, bestsellers are sold with a smallish gross margin, but free pricing on the
other hand, makes it possible to achieve a better gross margin than with a fixed price with most
of the book titles. The gross margin of backlist books bought for campaigns is good for
especially large bookshops.
The most conspicuous product of free pricing is the use of special offers. Great numbers of
copies, but of only a few titles, are sold at deep discounts. Less visible but significant in terms of
profitability are the major discounts granted on schoolbooks for comprehensive school and
books sold to libraries.
Not all the effects of free pricing were easy to predict. Deregulation was a factor in the
emergence of book clubs and in the appearance of bookstalls at more department stores and
supermarkets. Also, publishers were no longer required to observe their own recommended
prices in direct sales. Free pricing is also one of the key precepts of online book sales.
In countries with the fixed-price system, bookshops account for about 60% of all book sales. In
countries with free pricing, the market share of bookshops is much lower: in Finland, it was
39.1% in 2004.
Book prices in Finland
No accurate data are available on actual book prices and changes thereto because of free pricing.
The only available information is the average recommended price of books sent for sample
stock, which reflects consumer prices quite well. In 1990-2000 the book prices have been based
on the list prices given by the publishers which in free pricing do not precisely describe the real
consumer price of books. Some of the books have been sold in bookshops at a slightly higher
price than the list price and some, especially bestsellers, at a clearly lower price than the list
price. In book clubs, all the books are cheaper than the list price given by the publisher. The real
price paid by the consumer has been on the average more or less lower than the list price.
The drop in average price in 1993 is partly due to fewer expensive non-fiction titles being
published and sent for sample stock when the recession hit. The drop in 1994 was due to the
VAT reform, while the clear increase in 1995-96 was due to labour costs and rising paper prices
29
Figure 11. The average price of new books included in the commission system 1989-2001
Average priceof books in euros
25,0
20,0
17.8
18.9
1989
1990
20.0
20.8
19.6
18.6
1993
1994
21.8
21.9
22.5
23.2
21.4
22.5
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
19.7
euro
15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0
1991
1992
1995
The change of the average price compared to the previous year
1989 1990 1991 1992
%
%
%
%
+ 11.3 + 6.0 + 4.1 + 5.5
Source: Kirjavälitys Oy
1993
%
- 5.5
1994
%
- 5.1
1995 1996 1997
%
%
%
+ 5.7 + 8.5 + 1.9
1998
%
+ 0.5
1999
%
+ 3.1
2000
%
+ 2.3
2001
%
- 2.6
The price index based on the recommended process is no longer available as two of the major
publishers use only net prices. Since 2001 Statistics Finland has collected prices from bookshops
and the department stores´ book departments, as well as from the brochures of the book clubs.
Both normal priced and offer priced books have been included and the sample describes better
than before the real prices paid by the consumer.
Figure 12. Book price index and consumer price index 1990-2004 (1990 =100)
Book price index and consumer price index, 1999 = 100
Book price index
Consumer price index
130
125
Index
120
115
110
105
100
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: Statistics Finland
30
The publisher’s share of a book sold at the consumer price including VAT in a bookshop at the
normal price, is about 45 %, the writer’s share 10%, the bookshop’s share slightly under 40%
and the VAT is 8%. A bookshop receives a larger than normal discount from the publisher for
bestsellers, because of the larger purchase batches, but gives the consumer a discount of 10-25 %
(sometimes even larger) off the normal sales price. Thus the publisher is left with about 40%, the
author about 10% and the VAT is still 8% of the real consumer price of a bestseller with VAT
included. The bookshop’s share of the price of the bestseller is from just under 20 % to a good
30 % depending on the size of the discount given to the consumer.
BOOK PROMOTION
Promotion includes all marketing and advertising undertaken by the publisher, bookshops and
other booksellers. Indirect promotion includes the author’s public appearances other than those
organised specifically for promotional purposes by the publisher or a bookshop.
Sample stock
The sample stock system balances the risk between publisher and bookshop and guarantees an
extensive range of titles for bookshops to display. The publisher sends one copy of most new
titles of general books to each of the bookshops in the system free of charge. The bookshops are
required to display this copy and to place an order for a replacement copy immediately if the
sample copy is sold. Once the sample stock period is over, the publisher requests bookshops to
return the sample books. Any copies left unreturned are billed to the bookshop. To avoid returns
some publishers offer the sample stock books at a highly reduced price to the bookshops.
According to the agreement, a bookshop must always have at least 80% of the current sample
stock titles available. The average sample stock period for a book is slightly over a year.
Bookshops are divided into three sample stock categories based on their annual sales of general
books.
On November 11, 2005, the situation was as follows:
Sample stock category 1
114 shops
65 shops
75 shops
Target amount of titles
5 000 titles
3 500 titles
2 000 titles
Real number
5 329 titles
4 210 titles
2 886 titles
In all, bookshops had about 1.1 million copies belonging to publishers on their shelves; their
total value in consumer prices was about 25 million euros.
31
Databases
The FinnBooks database maintained by Kirjavälitys Oy contains the major bibliographical and
commercial data on all books in print published in Finland. FinnBooks is primarily designed as a
tool for bookshops. The database also contains descriptions of books, such as blurbs and cover
images, and a wide variety of search functions including keywords. The database covers 100,000
(including books, calendars, maps, AV-products, CD-ROM etc.). About 12,000 new titles are
added to the database every year. The database is used in CD-ROM form in about 110
bookshops and 100 libraries. Kirjavälitys updates the database constantly with information
received from publishers and the Legal Deposit office of the University of Helsinki. In 2005, the
database was updated 11 times.
Kirjaväylä is the on-line version of the database and is used by 280 bookshops and 100 libraries.
The Helsinki University Library maintains the FENNICA database, which contains information
on every book ever published in Finland. Its bibliographical information is more complete than
that of FinnBooks, but does not contain availability or pricing data. The Fennica database has
slightly over 657,000 titles, with about 23,000 new ones added every year (19,000 are book
titles).
Kirjavälitys and the Helsinki University Library co-operate so that Kirjavälitys sends the
advance information they get about the books to the University and receives information, from
the University about such books that the publisher has not, for one reason or another, sent
information on directly to Kirjavälitys.
BTJ Kirjastopalvelu maintains AllFons database, the bibliographical information of which is of
national bibliography standard, but the commercial information is more limited than FinnBooks.
Public libraries maintain their own databases in which collections of one or more municipal
libraries in co-operation have been gathered. For example, the city libraries of Espoo, Helsinki,
Kauniainen and Vantaa have founded a joint database, HelMet (www.helmet.fi), where one can
find the collections of these libraries.
Telecommunications
National applications are needed for the international Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
standard created for the book trade to function. In Finland, publishers, distributors and bookshop
chains set up a voluntary group; Book-EDI in the early 1990s to ensure frictionless
communications at least between Finnish parties. In 1997, both scientific and general libraries
joined the group.
Book-EDI is a good example of how a new standard that can be used by the whole book trade
has been established at quite low cost. The biggest benefits of the system are saving time and
fewer mistakes, when information is just put into the system once and then can be used by the
partners. All major publishers, bookshops and companies providing logistics use the same EDI
standard to transfer data among them. The functions in use are product data, order, delivery note
and invoice.
32
Catalogues
All major publishers release their own catalogues, in most cases separately for autumn and
spring releases. These catalogues are distributed mostly to bookshops and libraries. Some small
publishers have joint catalogues.
The Vuoden Kirjat (Books of the Year) catalogue published annually by the Finnish Book
Publishers Association covers at least all new publications by member publishers. In 2005
44,000 copies of the catalogue were printed, of which 1,000 were distributed to public libraries
and 12,000 were handed out to visitors at the Helsinki Book Fair, the remaining 41,000 copies
were distributed by the bookshops to their customers.
The Board of the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland and the Föreningen Konstsamfundet
(Society of Fine Arts) publish Den finlandssvenska bokkatalogen (Catalogue of Finnish books
written in Swedish). Den finlandssvenska bokkatalogen is a significant effort to boost Finnish
literature in Swedish. Its print run was 120,000 copies in 2005.
Bookshop chains publish their own catalogues sporadically, the most important ones being the
Christmas catalogues and the book sale catalogues in January.
Campaigns
The February book sale has been a traditional joint campaign by publishers and bookshops. Until
the early 1990s, all bookshops sold the same titles at the same prices in the book sale. Nowadays
selections offered are determined by each bookshop separately. A special feature is that a
considerable number of the books are sold through the catalogues distributed by the bookshops
and are ordered in advance, before the campaign starts in the bookshops.
World Book Day, known in Finland Kirjan ja ruusun päivä (Book and Rose Day), has been
celebrated in Finland since 1997. This campaign involves publishers, bookshops, libraries and
schools. The date of the sales campaign has been moved to May, when it is warmer and sales of
books can be arranged out-doors - the main event takes place in the Esplanade Park in Helsinki.
Other recent campaigns worth mentioning are 1000 vuotta — 100 kirjaa (1000 years — 100
books), an important book was presented each weekday morning on breakfast TV. A reading
promotion campaign for children was Kirjaseikkailu (Book adventure) arranged for children in
2001 and Lukuleikki (Reading game) for children below school age took place in 2005.
Book fairs and other events
The Turku Book Fair is organised annually in early October and the Helsinki Book Fair at the
end of October. Both are events meant for the general public where in addition to the packed
programme, the booksales play an important role. The first Turku Book Fair was arranged in
1992. In 2005 the Turku Book Fair had 20,564 visitors. The Helsinki Book Fair has been
organised annually since 2001. In 2005 there were 47,499 visitors. Antiquarian bookshops also
take part in both fairs.
33
The oldest of the present national public events in the book trade is the Vammala antique
literature days, which have been arranged since 1985 annually at the turn of July. The annual
number of visitors is around 20,000.
In addition, numerous smaller-scale but locally important book events are arranged in different
parts of Finland.
The City of Helsinki has launched a project aimed at Helsinki being nominated the World Book
Capital City in 2008 or soon after. The nomination will be granted by UNESCO.
Books and the media
There is no reliable overall statistical material or study on media publicity of books and any
changes therein. Otava Publishing has collated data on press coverage of titles they have
released.
The number of press articles on books has increased in recent years if we consider all articles
(not only reviews) and all printed periodicals (magazines as well as newspapers). Any book
written by or about a celebrity or politician easily gets publicity. Also, many periodicals publish
selected lists of new releases in spring and autumn.
Literature gets the most attention in the culture pages of the major dailies, followed by music and
fine arts. The different radio channels also have many programmes about literature. The interest
of TV in books has varied over time. There have been special programmes covering literature by
interviewing experts as well as ordinary people. In any case, literature and books get a great deal
of attention in the media in relation to their relevance to the national economy.
#
Figure 13. Number of articles written about books published by Otava Publishing 1975-2004
articles
Reviews and articles about books published by Otava
reviews
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
Source: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava (Otava Publishing)
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
0
34
BOOK CONSUMPTION
Book consumption here means buying a book. The sales in euros have been calculated at
consumer prices with VAT included, and describe precisely how much money has been spent on
books by consumers.
Table 21. Book purchases in Finland 2004
Book category
General books
Schoolbooks for comprehensive school
Other schoolbooks
Total
1,000
copies
23.2
4.4
2.1
29.7
Share
%
78
15
7
100
Million
euro
390
55
50
495
Share
%
79
11
10
100
An estimated 2 million books from publishers not belonging to the Finnish Book Publishers
Association and an estimated 1 million foreign books have been added to the sales of member
publishers of the Finnish Publishers Association.
In terms of money, consumers bought about 70% of all books sold: EUR 273 million worth of
general books and about EUR 45 million on schoolbooks.
Figure 14. The sales of books by target group in 2004
Sales of books by target group
Public libraries
5%
State etc.
4%
Scientific
libraries
3%
Companies
7%
Schools
11 %
Consumers
70 %
Source: Statistics Finland, the Booksellers Association and the author's estimate
35
Books and the consumer
Finland reads 1995, 1998 and 2003 is a survey undertaken by Taloustutkimus Oy, which is a
privately-owned market research institute. The study is the most recent thorough study of how
Finns between the ages of 15 and 74 buy books other than schoolbooks and textbooks.
A summary of Finland reads 2003 is available at www.skyry.net/pdf/finlandreads.pdf.
Central government, municipalities and companies as book buyers
In 2004, Finnish municipalities spent 55 million euros on schoolbooks for comprehensive
schools and 25 million euros on books for public libraries.
The various central government agencies and State-owned companies are estimated spend some
55 million euros on book purchases annually. Scientific libraries spent about 15 million euros on
book purchases in 2004; the share of foreign books was notably high.
Libraries
Finland’s first public library was founded in 1794. A public library is a statutory service to be
provided by the local authority. The basic function of a library is to assemble a collection of
literature and make it available to all. A library must also ensure that it stocks books that are out
of print.
Finns are the most prolific library users in Europe. In 2004, 109.8 million items were checked
out, 79.5 million of which were books: this breaks down to 30 books for each borrower, or 15
books each for every single person in Finland. According to the Suomi lukee (Finland reads)
2003 study, those who bought the most books also used the library the most.
Nearly all public libraries offer users free Internet access. A tangible testimonial to the
international reputation, which this policy has earned, came in the form of the Access to
Learning prize granted to the Helsinki City Library by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in
July 2000 for promoting the use of the Internet.
When library appropriations were reduced, the easiest and quickest way to save money on
expenditure was to decrease purchases. Most libraries have aimed at continuing to acquire as
many new titles as possible. The shortened life span of books is a problem for libraries just as
much as for book buyers. It may be difficult to replace a damaged or missing book only a few
years old. The number of libraries is decreasing, but co-operation and rationalisation has
enhanced their operation.
According to new government plans for the libraries, the local authorities would be required to
organise their library and information services for local residents so as to also cater to the needs
of educational institutions. The purpose of this is to improve the poor condition of school
libraries; however, it is not stipulated whether a school library should actually be in the school
building itself or at the public library.
36
Figure 15. Number of items acquired by the public libraries 1988-2004
Other
Books
Library acquisitions
3 000
1 000 copies
2 500
2 000
1 500
1 000
500
0
1988
1993
1995
1997
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Source: Ministry of Education: Library statistics
Table 22. Books and other material in the public libraries 2001–2004, 1 000 copies
Grand total
2001
11,905
14,595
26,500
8,403
1,532
9,935
36,435
769
37,204
1,692
573
409
74
4
539
3,291
40,495
2002
11,852
14,705
26,557
8,623
1,498
10,121
36,678
783
37,461
1,761
577
442
85
13
437
3,315
40,776
2003
11,885
14,755
26,640
8,655
1,484
10,139
36,779
807
37,586
1,842
578
469
94
33
371
3,387
40,973
2004
11,854
14,787
26,641
8,661
1,477
10,138
36,779
824
37,603
1,896
574
480
98
74
300
3,422
41,025
Books by language
Finnish
Swedish
Other languages
32,017
2,622
1,796
32,267
2,613
1,798
32,381
2,593
1,805
32,344
2,592
1,843
Year
Fiction, adult
Non-fiction, adult
Total, books for adults
Fiction, children
Non-fiction, children
Total, children’s books
Total, books
Sheet music and score
Grand total for books
Music recordings
Other recordings
Videos
CD-ROM
DVD
Other
Other than books, total
Source: http://tilastot.kirjastot.fi
37
Figure 16. Number of books and other material in public libraries per capita in 1995
Number of books in public libraries per capita
8
7.2
7
7.1
6.1
6
4.7
5
4
3.3
3.2
3
2.9
2.7
2.3
2
1.7
1.6
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.4
1
0.9
Ita
ly
Au
st
ri a
G
re
ec
e
UK
Fr
Lu
a
xe nce
m
bo
ur
g
Sp
ai
G
er n
m
an
y
Fi
nl
an
d
Ic
el
a
De nd
nm
ar
k
No
rw
ay
Ire
la
n
Sw d
ed
e
Be n
Ne lgiu
m
th
er
la
nd
s
0
Source: Statistical Yearbook UNESCO 1998
Figure 17. Number of books and other material per capita in public libraries in the Nordic
countries in 2003
Number of books and other publications per capita in 2003
10
8
6
4
2
Other
publications
0
Books
Finland
Iceland*
Denmark
Sweden
Norway
* the figures for Iceland are from 2001
Lähde: NORDICOM = Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research
www.nordicom.gu.se
38
Table 23. Number of loans in 1000 copies from public libraries 2001–2004
Year
Fiction, adult
Non-fiction, adult
Total, books for adults
Fiction, children
Non-fiction, children
Total, children’s books
Total, books
Sheet music and scores
Grand total, books
Music recordings
Other recordings
Videos
CD-ROM
DVD
Other
Other than book material, total
Grand total
2001
23,914
23,148
47,062
23,936
3,354
27,290
74,352
1,255
75,607
8,918
1,976
5,635
663
59
8,287
25,538
101,145
2002
24,826
23,704
48,530
26,554
3,339
29,893
78,423
1295
79,718
9,550
1,966
5,981
676
270
8,458
26,901
106,619
2003
25,304
24,048
49,352
26,524
3,276
29,800
79,152
1,324
80,476
9,562
1,981
6,152
719
686
8,575
27 ,675
108 ,151
2004
25,084
24,073
49,157
27,295
3,093
30,388
79,545
1,344
80,889
9,573
2,003
5,860
731
1,796
8,589
28, 552
109, 441
Continued
By language
Finnish
Swedish
Other
70 292
3 107
2 953
72 222
3 130
3 061
72 888
3 161
3 102
73 363
3 151
3 031
Source: http://tilastot.kirjastot.fi
Figure 18. Number of books borrowed from public libraries in 1997
Number of books in public libraries per capita
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
7.2
7.1
6.1
4.7
3.3
3.2
2.9
2.7
2.3
1.7
1.6
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.4
Source: Statistical Yearbook UNESCO 1998
Ita
ly
A
us
tr
ia
G
re
ec
e
U
K
Fr
Lu
a
xe nce
m
bo
ur
g
S
pa
in
G
er
m
an
y
Fi
nl
an
d
Ic
el
an
d
D
en
m
ar
k
N
or
w
ay
Ir
el
an
d
S
w
ed
en
B
el
gi
N
um
et
he
rl
an
ds
1
0
0.9
39
Figure 19 Number of books borrowed per capita from public libraries in the Nordic countries
2003
Numbers of books borrowed per capita
25
20.8
20
13.6
15
8.6
10
8.0
5.5
5
0
Finland
Denmark
Sweden
Iceland*
Norway
* The figure for Iceland is from 2001
Source: NORDICOM = Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research
www.nordicom.gu.se
Finland has perhaps the best and most advanced public library system in the world, and it is also
used a great deal. Despite decreasing acquisition rates in recent years, public libraries still
maintain very good collections. One in two Finns borrowed something from a public library at
least once during the year.
New purchase funding for scientific libraries, particularly university libraries, is inadequate and
fluctuates from year to year more than with the public libraries. When funding is reduced, it is
easier to cut down on book purchases, which are one-off items, in favour of continuity in the
form of subscriptions to journals and publication series. Journals may place a burden on
resources in that a library may subscribe to both the printed and the online version of a journal.
The proportion of digital material in library purchases and collections is constantly growing.
Foreign books account for a considerable share of book purchases by scientific libraries.
Scientific libraries are of negligible importance as book buyers to nearly all Finnish publishers,
with the exception of publishers of scientific literature.
University libraries in Finland have a special problem in that there are many students in Finland
studying in several languages. Currently, the libraries cannot cope with the demand for material.
This development is worrying. In order to rectify the situation, libraries have tried to rationalise
their work, increasing co-operation and division of duties. The central government has
subsidised subscriptions to journals online rather than in printed form. The national electronic
library (FinELib) manages the subscriptions and user rights centrally. The shift to online
products is in many ways justified, but there are technical problems in their use and archiving,
and not all users like them. However, their use is growing.
40
Table 24. Number of books and other printed material in the scientific libraries acquired in
1993–2004
Year
Books 1 000 €
Periodicals 1 000 €
Total 1 000 €
1993
5,550
10,175
16,028
1995
5,432
8,325
13,758
1997
7,333
10,125
17,458
1998
7,888
10,613
18,501
1999
9,402
12,698
22,436
Year
2000
2001
2002
Books 1 000 €
8,806
9,536
8,166
Periodicals 1 000 €
11,207
11,655
8,954
20,013
21,191
17,120
Total 1 000 €
Source: Cultural Statistics 2003, http://yhteistilasto.lib.helsinki.fi
2003
8,859
7,607
16,466
2004
8,585
7,243
15,828
National Library
According to the current Legal Deposit Act printers must submit six copies of every title printed
as free copies. Two of these go to the Helsinki University Library, which is Finland’s National
Library. For historical reasons, the library has a significant collection of literature in Russian.
One of the main themes of the National Library Strategy 2000-2003 is to have libraries, both
scientific and public, form a national and partly international network. This would enable them
to cut down on overlapping functions and allocate resources and their division of labour as
feasibly as possible. Collating, classifying and archiving electronic material is a new task that
requires a lot of resources. The Legal Deposit Act is going to be revised among other matters it
is planned that it would also cover electronic material.
Virtual library
A virtual library is a collection maintained by a designated party where one can borrow ebooks.
By an ebook one means a book-like, specified content entity separate from other material
available on the Internet, and electronic magazines offered by university libraries.
The first experiments to found such a collection were made at the end of the 1990s, but strictly
speaking the operations can be said to have started not later than 2003 when www.ellibs.fi
selling ebooks and the University of Helsinki Student Library started to co-operate. In October
2005 there were about 300 virtual libraries in operation in Finland, including both scientific and
general libraries.
The operational model of a virtual library, as far as borrowing such material that has a copyright
holder, is at least for the time being, the same as when dealing with printed books.
Technically virtual material (ebook) could have an unlimited number of borrowers
simultaneously. Due to the copyright issues the number of simultaneous borrowers, however,
must be limited to the number of purchased licenses. Currently, most of the ebooks are parallel
versions of the printed books.
41
Literacy
In Finland today, everyone over the age of seven can read and write. Books are available to
everyone, either to buy or to borrow at the local library. The school system guarantees literacy
for all. Promoting reading, which is important for maintaining literacy, is constantly stressed,
libraries playing an important role in addition to schools and the home. The subject heading
‘mother tongue’ in comprehensive schools and upper secondary schools was changed to mother
tongue and literature in 1999.
According to the PISA research carried out in the OECD countries in 2000, the literacy of
Finnish 15 year-olds was the best compared to the peer group. Finnish girls were distinguished
as especially good readers. Even though 15 year-old Finnish boys were good readers compared
to all the others of the same age group, Finnish girls were clearly better. Finnish girls at 15 were
already nearly as good readers as adult women. The boys´ literacy instead clearly improves even
after the age of 15.
According to the renewed PISA research in 2003 the literacy of the young people in Finland was
still the best in the OECD countries.
GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES FOR THE BOOK TRADE
Cultural administration and certain education and science appropriations
The book trade comes under the Ministry of Education in Finland, since there is no separate
Ministry of Culture. The development of the book trade is influenced by both the Department for
Education and Science Policy and the Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy within
the Ministry, since scientific and non-fiction books are supported mostly by the former and
fiction by the latter. In addition to the education, science and culture administration of the
Ministry of Education, the book trade is also subsidised by independent arts councils and other
subsidiary bodies. The Academy of Finland and the National Board of Education are subordinate
to the Department for Education and Science Policy, while the arts councils are subordinate to
the Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy.
Department for Education and Science Policy
The Department for Education and Science Policy of the Ministry of Education supports the
book trade through university teaching and research appropriations, Academy of Finland
appropriations and National Repository Library appropriations.
Support for non-fiction is partly discussed under Funding and support for the book trade,
because it is comparable to support for the arts and because they are subsidised from
appropriations of the Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy.
The budget for the Department for Education and Science Policy for 2004 contained five items
designating, funding for schoolbook development and literature support. An appropriation of
18.4 million euros meant for the operational expenses of the Department of Education, part of
which was allowed to be used to develop teaching material and produce Swedish and teaching
42
material with a limited circulation. 258,000 euros of the appropriation was reserved to produce
Sámi teaching material and which was given as a subsidy to the Sámi Parliament of Finland.
An appropriation of 253,000 euros was granted out of the international co-operation
appropriation to support publications meant for international dissemination. Part of the Finnish
lottery funds (75.7 million euros) meant for advancing science was also used for translating and
printing scientific literature, as well as for expenses of studies, clarifications and publications
supporting science. The joint expense accounts of a university institute include an appropriation
(8.8 million euros) for research, development and publishing activities, which is partly meant to
pay teaching material expenses. In the item concerning the creation and acquisition of certain
works, EUR 350,000 was allocated to book projects. This appropriation is intended for expenses
in creating and acquiring multi-volume historical works and biographies.
The Arts Council of Finland
Finnish cultural and arts policy is based on the 1967 Promotion of the Arts Act, which came into
force in 1968. At that time, seven national councils for the arts and their coordinating body, the
Central Arts Council, were founded. The system is collectively known as the Arts Council of
Finland. Eleven provincial arts councils were also founded; their functions are now performed by
the thirteen regional arts councils.
The national and regional Arts Councils have a maximum of eleven members. The Government
appoints the members of national councils, while the relevant provincial State office appoints the
members of the regional arts councils, having consulted various arts organisations and
institutions. The term of members of the Central Arts Council, the national councils and the
regional arts councils is three years, and the same person can serve a maximum of two
consecutive terms. The chairmen of the national councils and six other members appointed by
the Government comprise the Central Arts Council.
At present, there are nine national arts councils.1 Their duty is to monitor, promote and support
their respective fields. They are expert organs subordinate to the Ministry of Education and the
Central Arts Council, participating in the planning and implementation of arts and culture policy
through statements, submissions and grants.
The National Council for Literature awards grants to writers of fiction, including playwrights
and translators. The National Council for Theatre supports Finnish drama.
The National Council for Crafts and Design also awards grants to book creators: graphic
designers, illustrators and comics creators are eligible for various grants. In addition to artist
grants, creators may gain funding from subsidies for crafts and design production. Also, the
National Council for Photographic Art subsidises books through subsidies for the production of
photographic publications.
The Children’s Culture Division is an expert organ of the Central Arts Council. Its purpose is to
strengthen and promote children’s culture. It makes proposals to the Arts Council on grants and
awards for children’s culture.
1 The National Council for Cinema, the National Council for Literature, the National Council for Visual Arts, the
National Council for Theatre, the National Council for Architecture, the National Council for Music, the National
Council for Crafts and Design, the National Council for Dance and the National Council for Photographic Art.
43
Consultative Committee for Public Information
The Consultative Committee for Public Information was founded in 1972 as an expert organ of
the Ministry of Education. Its purpose is to promote the dissemination of information through
proposals, initiatives and statements. It awards public information project grants, makes
proposals regarding the State Prize for Public Information and draws up lists of non-fiction titles
that qualify for purchase subsidies for low-volume quality literature.
The Consultative Committee for Public Information appointed by the Ministry of Education
consists of a chairman and ten members who can only serve a single three-year term.
Book trade funding and subsidies
Most of the subsidies for the book trade come from national lottery funds, like most State arts
appropriations (about 90%). In the 1990s, national lottery funds were also used for statutory
State expenditure such as maintenance of the museum and library system, leaving a relatively
smaller share for discretionary arts promotion. In 2004, the Ministry of Education subsidised
libraries with of EUR 104 million, of which about EUR 62 million came from lottery funds.
Table 13 shows the distribution of lottery funds.
44
Table 25. National lottery funds distributed to the arts 1998-2004
2001
Film
Music
Visual arts
Literature
Drama
Crafts and design
Dance
Architecture
Photography
Museums
Subsidies to cultural history museums
Special subsidies to specialised museums
Statutory state subsidies to museums
Museum and heritage organisations
Statutory state subs.to theatres &orchestras
State subsidy for the expenses of the renovation loan
management of the Finnish National Theatre
Statutory state subsidies to local authority cultural
functions
Finnish National Theatre
Finnish National Opera
Subsidies to the National Opera for extra pensions
Arts promotion funds to regional art councils
Art council's administrative expenditure etc.
Artist grants, PLR compensation grants
Facilities acquisition, renovations etc.
Other arts promotion
Subsidies for conservation and repairs
Statutory state subsidies to libraries
Direct state subsidies to libraries
State Prizes for artists
Compensation grants to visual artists
Recordings & sheet music PLR compens.grants
Public Lending Right Grants for Illustrators
Cultural policy sector research
Audiovisual content production
Storage of art and museum artifacts
Development of copyright systems
Some art centres
Subsidies to the Alvar Aalto Academy
National cultural events
Subsidy to the Art Council information centre
Children’s culture centres
Central Arts Council for support of children’s culture and
multi-art activities, as well as for international subsidies
for arts
Total
Source: Arts councils’ annual reports
2002
2003
11,268,600 11,268,600
1,961,100
1,980,000
1,513,700
1,514,000
1,295,000
1,338,000
1,488,500
1,490,000
341,400
341,000
428,900
432,000
336,400
308,000
361,600
362,000
15,957,300 13,801,000
445,700
- 2 ,367,000
446,000
470,900
536,000
36,671,900 36, 548,000
2004
12,563,000 14,663,000
1,980,000
2,280,000
1,514,000
1,814,000
1,338,000
1,738,000
1,590,000
1,990,000
341,000
391,000
532,000
732,000
338,000
388,000
362,000
437,000
13,945,000 12,868,000
2 ,367,000 2 ,567,000
446,000
521,000
536,000
636,000
36,852,000 26, 866,000
-
-
5,993,400
5,993,000
7,063,900
7,896,000
7,896,000
8,418,000
23,378,100
1,513,700
4,120,600
1,261,400
8,473,800
2,421,900
3,758,500
925,000
72,906,600
3,206,200
336,400
672,800
84,000
24,051,000
1 ,514,000
4,121,000
1,169,000
8,320,000
2,422,000
3,944,000
925,000
75,802,000
3,382,000
336,000
841,000
84,000
135,000
2,943,000
1,081,000
-
25,565,000
3,420,000
873,000
3,569,000
925,000
62,195,000
3,382,000
336,000
841,000
84,000
135,000
2,973,000
1,081,000
406,000
29,225,000
3,920,000
2,373,000
2,379,000
925,000
59,361,000
3,382,000
336,000
841,000
120,000
50,000
250,000
400,000
520,000
80,000
500,000
135,000
3,473,000
1,481,000
806,000
-
-
1,116 600
134,550
2,943,300
1,047,800
2 ,847, 000
-
212,782,950 217,690,600 191,232,000 187,982,600
45
Appropriations for each branch of the arts are distributed annually from national lottery funds. In
2001, FIM 7.7 million (EUR 1.3 million) of the arts subsidy appropriations from this source was
allocated to literature. This allocation was further distributed as Table 20 shows.
Table 26. Appropriations for literature from national lottery funds 2001-2004
Undivided appropriation
Purchase subsidies for low-volume quality literature
Writers’ organisations
Translating and publishing Finnish literature
Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature
Promoting fiction in Finnish and Swedish
Selective production subsidies
Promoting creative writing and reading
Projects in literature
2001
504,600
218,600
230,400
84,100
32,000
94,200
131,200
-
2002
26,110
504,570
233,780
230,420
84,100
31,960
95,870
131,190
-
2003
26,110
600,440
233,780
230,420
84,100
31,960
-*
131,190
-
2004
35,000
800,000
275,000
253,000
90,000
50,000
185,000
50,000
* The selective production appropriation was combined with the appropriation for the purchase
of low-volume quality literature.
Source: Central Arts Council
State subsidies to the book trade can be divided into five categories according to their target:
production and distribution subsidies; leisure activity and publicity subsidies; literary society
subsidies; artist subsidies; and other book trade subsidies. Subsidies from the Ministry of
Education’s Department for Education and Science Policy have been partly covered above with
regard to teaching materials, but the subsidies for non-fiction writers and books are here grouped
with arts subsidies because these go together and because the former are also funded from the
arts appropriations from national lottery funds distributed by the Department for Cultural, Sport
and Youth Policy.
State subsidies for literature are often understood to refer to fiction only. State literature
subsidies were about EUR 7.6 million in 2004, including not only fiction but also photographic
publications, publications of visual arts, cultural activities and publications by Sámi and other
minority cultures, drama premieres, the State Prize for Foreign Translators and the various
subsidies for non-fiction as shown in Table 15. In relation to the State budget and the Ministry of
Education budget, book trade subsidies form a minor item; in 2004, the State budget was EUR
37.1 billion, and that of the Ministry of Education EUR 6.1 billion.
46
Table 27. State subsidies to the book trade 1997-2004
Appropriation/subsidy
Production/Distribution
-promoting Finnish literature
-promoting Swedish literature
-appropriation for translating and
publishing
-selective production subsidy
-purchase subsidy for low-volume literature
-Easy-to-Read literature subsidy
-subsidy for photographic publications
Support for publications of visual artists
-subsidy for cultural and publishing activities
by Sámi & other minority cultures
Total
Hobby/PR
-promoting creative writing and reading
-projects in literature
-Finnish Literature Information Centres
-Finnish Institute for Children's Literature
-State subsidy for regional arts councils
Total
Organisations
- subsidies to writer's associations
-subsidies to writers' associations for
international activities
Undivided appropriation
Total
Other subsidies
-national cultural events *
- other arts promotion **
Total
Artists
-artists' pensions
-academicians
-artist professors and artists grants
-premiere subsidies to playwrights
-project, travel & children's cultural grants ***
-public information grants
¨PLR compensation grants +
-Public Lending Right Grants for Illustrators
-Finland prizes
-State Prize for Merits in Children's Culture
-public information prizes
-artist subsidies for regional arts councils
Total
Total for all above subsidies
* includes only literature events
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
70,600
52,150
230,400
71,500
52,150
230,400
72,000
50,960
72,000
50,960
82,500
58,750
230,420
230,420
253,000
94,200
504,600
42,050
50,450
168,200
94,200
555,000
42,050
50,450
168,200
95,870
504,570
42,050
59,000
-
600,440
42,050
59,000
-
800,000
50,000
65,000
4,000
168,000
168,000
172,800
1, 044,450 1, 095,750 1.222, 870 1,222,870 1 486,050
131,200
282,550
84,100
43,900
541,750
497, 850
131,190
356,500
84,100
59,200
630, 990
131,190
298,000
84,100
49,300
562, 290
185,000
50,000
364,000
90,000
51,200
740,200
218,650
218,650
233,780
233,780
275,000
25,650
29,000
144,000
14,400
14,400
218, 650
218, 650
26,110
274, 290
26,110
274,290
35,000
324,400
48,800
50,450
99,250
126,150
50,450
176, 600
70,100
68,000
138,100
109,500
68,000
177,500
75,500
68,000
143, 500
..
-
..
-
..
-
..
-
..
-
1,544 200
109,300
131,200
282,550
84,100
,676,000 1,491,970 1,552,570 1,575,830
109,300
111,480
134,480
214,500
52,800
77,050
75,700
67,300
2 ,323,500 2 ,369,950
70,000
92,100
73,000
100 ,000
84,500
100,000
2,411 500 2 ,552,700 2,557, 700
15,000
50,000
50,000
42,050
42, 050
53,600
89 ,400
55,800
8,400
8,400
7,000
5,600
12,000
33,650
58,850
68,000
68,000
68,000
202,500
209,620
252,510
213,720
4,400, 500 4, 417,300 4,540,270 4,888 260 4,942,050
6,498, 400 6 603 350 6,806, 520 7,125, 210 7,636,200
47
* *This covers only the Sibelius Collected Works project, not subsidies for organisations or
societies.
*** This does not include grants to graphic designers and illustrators.
State subsidies for literature are often understood to refer to fiction only. According to
Kulttuuritilastot 1999 (Cultural statistics 1999), State literature subsidies were about FIM 32
million (EUR 5.4 million) in 1997, when in fact the real figure was FIM 37 million (EUR 6.2
million), including not only fiction but photographic publications, cultural activities and
publications by Sámi and other minority cultures, drama premieres, the State Prize for Foreign
Translators, the State Prize for Merits in Children’s Culture for book illustrators and the various
subsidies for non-fiction as shown in Table 15. In relation to the State budget and the Ministry of
Education budget, book trade subsidies form a minor item; in 1997, the State budget total was
FIM 187 billion (EUR 31.6 billion), and that of the Ministry of Education FIM 26 billion (EUR
4.4 billion).
48
Production/distribution
Figure 20. Government subsidies to the book trade: production/distribution 2004
Grant for production/distribution in 2004 (1.5 million €)
Grants for
production
of fine art's
publications; 4000
Sámi, etc.
subsidies; 172800
Promotion of
Finnish literature;
82850
Grants for
production of
photographic
publications; 65000
Promotion of
literature in
Swedish; 58750
Translation of
Finnish literature;
253000
Easy-to-Read
literature subsidies;
50000
Purchase
subsidies; 800000
Source: Ministry of Education
Funds for promoting Finnish literature
Funds for promoting Finnish literature, which have been awarded since 1909, are awarded by
FILI, the Finnish Literature Information Centre. The funds are used for subsidising translations
of fiction and non-fiction into Finnish.
Funds for promoting literature in Swedish
Funds for promoting literature in Swedish have been awarded since 1923. The appropriation was
created because during the Depression the position of Swedish-language publishers grew
weaker, fewer books were published and the import of books from Sweden diminished as the
exchange rate of the Swedish krona rose.
However, the real reason for setting up this funding system was the need to translate fiction and
non-fiction from Finnish to Swedish. Lately, the support for translations from Finnish has
decreased, since their need is negligible as Swedish-speaking Finns generally also speak good
Finnish, and joint Nordic funds are available to support translations from one Scandinavian
language to another.
49
A committee of FILI, the Finnish Literature Information Centre distributes the funds in cooperation with scientific and literary societies based on quality criteria to support useful literature
that could not otherwise be published.
Finnish literature translation and publication funds
Funds for translating and publishing Finnish literature are awarded by FILI, the Finnish
Literature Information Centre. Subsidies can be granted for translations of and publicity
concerning Finnish literature (in Finnish, Swedish or Sámi). Apart from project and travel grants
for foreign translators, grants are also awarded to foreign publishers and publications promoting
Finnish literature.
Selective production subsidies
Selective production subsidies for publishers were available from 1989 to 2002. Recipients are
selected by the Book Foundation founded by the Ministry of Education and the Finnish
Publishers Association. The preparatory organ was the production subsidies committee, with
three expert members appointed by the Book Foundation. In 2003 the selective production
appropriation was combined with the appropriation for the purchase of low-volume quality
literature.
Purchase subsidies for low-volume quality literature
The purchase subsidies for low-volume quality literature, awarded since 1985, were initially
awarded to libraries in municipalities with a population of less than 9,000, but since 1998 the
system has covered all municipalities in Finland except for the autonomous region of Åland.
The purchase subsidies are drawn wholly from lottery funds appropriations for arts support, even
though the subsidies are used for purchasing both fiction and non-fiction.
Easy-to-Read literature promotion
The Easy-to-Read literature subsidies are awarded by Easy-to-Read book work group of the
consultative committee of Selkokeskus. Such subsidies have been awarded since 1990 to
publishers, writers, illustrators, translators and researchers. Subsidies can also be awarded for
adapting existing works to Easy-to-Read language.
Grants for production of photographic publications
Since 1982, the National Council for Photographic Art has been awarding grants for production
of photographic publications intended to promote and improve the level of photography in
Finland. Such grants can be awarded to an individual photographer or a group.
50
Support for publications of visual artists
The National Council for Visual Arts has granted support for publications of visual artists since
2004. Only part of the support for publications is aimed at books, as the support for publications
is also granted for making periodicals, exhibition publications, catalogues, Internet sites,
DVD recordings, portfolios, as well as for documentation and printing expenses.
Promoting cultural and publication activities by Sámi and other minority cultures
Subsidies for cultural and publication activities by Sámi and other minority cultures are awarded
by the Ministry of Education. Most goes directly to publishers to support publication.
Since 1994, the funds for promoting Sámi culture have been awarded directly to the Sámi
Parliament, which distributes them further. This measure is intended to give the Sámi cultural
autonomy.
Leisure activities and PR
Figure 21. Government subsidies to the Book Trade: Hobby/PR 2004
Subsidies to leisure activities and PR in 2004 (0.7 million €)
State subsidies
to regional arts
councils; 51,200
Finnish Institute
for Children's
literature;
90,000
Finnish
Literature
Information
Centre; 364,000
Promotion of
reading and
writing; 235,000
51
Promoting creative writing and reading
The National Council for Literature has awarded funds for promoting creative writing and
reading to literary organisations, societies and institutions since 1996; until 1995, the Ministry of
Education decided on these State subsidies. The funds are intended for maintaining and
developing writer training and for promoting literacy and reading as a leisure activity.
About half of the reading and writing funds (EUR 95,000 in 2004) are used annually to support
Lukukeskus-Läscentrum, a society whose main task is to maintain and promote reading as a
leisure activity. Nuoren Voiman Liitto, which focuses on author and writer training, receives the
next largest subsidy, EUR 30,000 in 2004. Other organisations have received considerably
smaller subsidies, from EUR 1,000 – 5,000. In addition to the monies for the advancement of
creative writing and reading, the National Council for Literature has had its own appropriation
since 2004 for one-off projects. This appropriation was 50,000 euros in 2004.
Finnish Literature Information Centre
FILI - the Finnish Literature Information Centre, founded in 1977, is financed mainly from
public funds and maintained by the Finnish Literature Society. The purpose of the Centre is to
promote Finnish literature (in Finnish, Swedish and Sámi) abroad, to translate literature and to
promote publication. The Centre is involved in several bilateral and multilateral cultural
agreements and literary projects in exchange programmes.
The Finnish literature translation grants awarded by the Literature Information Centre are
intended for translation of and publicity on Finnish literature. Foreign translators and
publications promoting Finnish literature can apply for these grants. Foreign translators and
authors of books on Finland can also apply for project and travel grants.
Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature
The Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature was founded in 1978. It is maintained by a
charitable society, and a support fund was set up in 1992.
The duties of the Institute include storing children’s and juvenile literature and research and
illustrations in the field, promoting research on literature and illustrating, and publicity.
The Institute has a publication series of its own for research and non-fiction in the field, and its
regular publications include Onnimanni, a quarterly journal for children’s and juvenile literature.
Since 1993, the Institute has awarded the annual Onnimanni Prize for work raising the status and
significance of children’s and juvenile literature.
Apart from the Ministry of Education, the Institute is supported by the City of Tampere, the
regional Arts Council of Häme and several private foundations and funds.
52
State subsidies for regional arts councils
Regional arts councils support leisure activities and PR in the book trade by awarding funds to
writers’, literary, library and cultural societies. The Ministry of Education allocates
appropriations for regional arts councils to use at their discretion for State subsidies, artist grants
and provincial artists.
In 2004, EUR 3.9 million was allocated in the Ministry of Education budget for regional arts
councils to spend on arts promotion. In that year, the regional arts councils supported literary
organisations with EUR 51,200.
Organisations
Figure 22. Government subsidies to the book trade: Writers’ organisations in 2004
Grants to writers' organizations in 2004 (0.3 million €)
Subsidies to
writers'
organisations for
international
activities; 14,400
Other subsidies to
organisations;
35,000
Regular subsidies
to writers'
organisations;
275,000
Writers’ organisations receive State subsidies both for their normal activities and for
international activities. These subsidies help maintain nationally significant writers’
organisations and artist’s associations that safeguard the social and financial interests of their
members.
Subsidies to writers’ organisations for normal activities and international activities are awarded
by the Ministry of Education on submission from the National Council for Literature. In addition
to these subsidies, the International Relations Division of the Ministry of Education has
subsidised various projects by writers’ organisations.
53
Other subsidies
State subsidies for national cultural events are decided by the Ministry of Education based on
submissions from the Central Arts Council. The national councils for the arts make proposals to
the Arts Council regarding national cultural events to receive funding.
The Ministry of Education’s Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy also occasionally
supports the book trade from the budget item headed ’other arts promotion’. These funds go to a
range of organisations and societies for use in book projects.
Figure 23. Government subsidies to the book trade: Other subsidies in 2004
Other grants in 2004 € 143,500
Other arts
promotion;
68,000
National
cultural
events; 75,500
54
Direct State subsidies for creators in the book sector
Figure 24. Government subsidies to the book trade: Authors 2004
Total subsidies to authors in 2004 (4.9 million €)
State prize for foreign
translators; 10,000
Public information
prizes; 68,000
Finland prizes;
67,800
Artist subsides for
regional Arts Councils;
213,720
Artist professors &
artist grants;
1,575,830
PLR compensation
grants, illustrators;
50,000
PLR compensation
grants, authors;
2,557,700
Grants for playwrights;
214,500
Project, travel &
children's culture
grants; 84,500
Public information
grants; 100,000
Direct State literature subsidies came to EUR 4,942,050 in 2004, including the grants and awards
by regional arts councils.
Artist pensions
Supplementary artist pensions are paid out of the appropriations of the Ministry of Finance. The
national councils for the arts process pension applications from their respective fields, rank them
and submit a proposal with explanations to the Central Arts Council, which further submits a
proposal to the Ministry of Education.
Supplementary artist pensions are awarded to a creative or performing artist in recognition of
meritorious work. Although artist pensions are not coordinated with other pension schemes, the
financial status of the recipient is taken into account when awarding a full or partial artist
pension.
In 1992, an amendment was made to the conditions of awarding artist pensions whereby the
wealth and income of the applicant must be taken into account when awarding the pension. In
the same year, the number of artist pensions to be awarded annually was reduced from 65 to 35.
In 2005, the full artist pension was EUR 1,118 per month. An artist pension is taxable income.
55
Academicians
The title of Academician may be bestowed on a particularly meritorious artist by the President of
the Republic on submission from the Central Arts Council. There are eight academicians at the
moment; literature is represented by the authors Paavo Haavikko, appointed in 1994, and Veijo
Meri, appointed in 1998.
Artist Professors
Appointments to a post of Artist Professor are made by the Central Arts Council on submission
from the national councils for the arts. The candidate must be an exceptionally distinguished
artist in order to be appointed Artist Professor; he or she is required to undertake creative artistic
work in his or her field, for example by lecturing in educational institutions or by teaching young
artists.
Artist professors are paid a monthly salary; in 2005, this was a minimum of EUR 2,883 per
month, possible earlier accumulated increments increase the salary.
Grants
State grants to artists
State grants to artists related to the book trade are awarded by the Central Arts Council, the
National Council for Literature and the National Council for Crafts and Design. The annual grant
system for writers and translators is complemented by the Public Lending Right compensation
grants awarded by the Ministry of Education; these may be equivalent to the annual grant in size.
The grants are tax-free; in 2005 they were EUR 1, 236 per month.
Grant applications from writers and translators are processed by both the National Council for
Literature and the Board for Public Lending Right Compensation Grants. Artist grants are
awarded for artistic work, studies in Finland or abroad, or further training.
In awarding artist grants, the Central Arts Council and the national councils must take language
and regional factors into account. Efforts have been made to strengthen the position of young
artists: the Central Arts Council ensures that of the various artist grants at least 30 one-year
grants are awarded to young artists or artists starting their career.
According to the old Artist Grants Decree, the national councils distribute the following artist
grants to the book trade each year: for writers, 19 one-year, 9 three-year and 5 five-year grants;
for translators, 4 one-year and 2 three-year grants; for craftsmen and designers (which includes
comics creators and illustrators), 5 one-year, 3 three-year and 1 five-year grant; and for critics, 5
one-year and 1 three-year grant. The critics’ grants are awarded by the Central Arts Council on
submission from the national councils.
In addition to the national councils’ grants, the Central Arts Council has granted 10 five-year
artist grants to artists in various fields since 1996. According to an amendment to the Decree, the
56
number of these five-year grants went up to 20 from 2001 and they will go up to 30 from 2006.
The Central Arts Council awards these grants on submission from the national councils.
From the beginning of 2001, artist grants have no longer been fixed in periods of one, three or
five years; a grant period may be anything from six months to five years. However, the awarding
procedure will ensure that the average grant period will be no shorter than before. The Central
Arts Council will decide the number of grant years to be awarded for each field each year. Each
national council will have the same number of grant years available to award as before, meaning
that, for instance, the National Council for Literature had 81 grant years to award writers and
translators from the beginning of 2001.
Writer and translator grants
Writers and translators are awarded artist grants, project grants, children’s culture grants, travel
grants and Public Lending Right compensation grants. The overall situation is shown in the table
below.
Artist grants have been awarded since 1970. Apart from the one-year, three-year and five-year
grants mentioned above, between 1982 and 1995 the Ministry of Education also awarded 10
fifteen-year grants to artists in various fields. Currently, only five-year and fifteen-year grants
include a pension contribution.
Although the five-year grants awarded by the Central Arts Council since 1996 partly make up for
the loss of fifteen-year grants, the grant situation for writers and translators has deteriorated in
the 1990s for two reasons: the number of applicants has increased steadily throughout the
decade, and the Public Lending Right compensation grant system, which complements the State
artist grant system, is based on library acquisition appropriations and has thus steadily declined
in the 1990s.
Table 28. Writer/translator grants applied for and awarded in 2004
Grant
Total #
of applications*
Literature
applications
%
Total
grants
awarded*
Writer/
Translator
Grants
awarded
%
Artist grants
1992
310
16
226
48
21
Project grants
1534
141
9
241
20
8
Children's culture
grants
354
45
13
131
11
8
Travel grants
802
42
5
412
25
6
PLR
compensation
grants
1229
919**
75
878
696**
79
Total # of
applications
5911
1457
25
1888
800
42
Total # of persons
applying
5077
891
18
2076
717
35
* Total for writers and translators of fiction and non-fiction
57
** NB Actually, the table shows the number of applications received (not the number of
applicants) and the number of grants awarded (not the number of grant recipients); one person
may well have applied for and been awarded several grants (e.g. an artist grant and a travel
grant). The number of actual people involved is thus less than the 750 given here.
Source: Research unit of the Central Arts Council
Illustrator, graphic designer and comics creator artist grants
The artist grants for illustrators, graphic designers and comics creators are awarded by the
National Council for Crafts and Design to a wide variety of artists. However, there is no set
division of funds among the various branches of crafts and design: graphic arts, comics, glass
and ceramics design, industrial design, furniture and interior design, metalwork, handicrafts and
other crafts.
State grants to artists
State grants to artists related to the book trade are awarded by the Central Arts Council, the
National Council for Literature and the National Council for Crafts and Design. The annual grant
system for writers and translators is complemented by the Public Lending Right compensation
grants awarded by the Board for Public Lending Right Compensation Grants subordinate to the
Central Arts Council; these may be equivalent to the annual grant in size. The grants are tax-free;
in 2005, they were EUR 1,236 per month.
Project grants
According to the Act on State Artist Grants, an appropriation equivalent to at least 50 State artist
grants shall be distributed annually as project grants mainly to artists. A project grant may be
awarded to an artist or a group for implementing a project, covering work expenses, covering
performing, presentation or publication expenses or for research. The Central Arts Council
awards project grants on submission from the national councils.
Foreign travel grants for creators in the book trade
Artists in the book trade may apply to the Central Arts Council for foreign travel grants. There
are also Nordic travel grants available to writers and translators.
The Arts Council travel grants are intended to cover travel expenses only for artists and art
experts. Such grants will be awarded to persons actively representing Finland for projects that
are artistically significant in themselves or significant for the field of art in question.
Nordic travel grants for writers and translators are awarded based on a joint Nordic agreement
concluded in 1970 whereby each Nordic country selects recipients of grants to travel to all other
58
Nordic countries. Since 1999, these grants have been awarded by the National Council for
Literature.
Grants for children's culture
Grants for children's culture are awarded by the Children’s Culture Division of the Central Arts
Council after consulting the relevant national councils.
Grants for children's culture are awarded to support the work of people, groups or organisations
who promote children’s culture. The field of art, language and regional factors are taken into
account.
Public information grants
Since 1973, the Consultative Committee for Public Information has awarded public information
grants to support popular works of non-fiction and public information projects. These grants are
primarily intended as work grants.
Public Lending Right compensation grants and subsidies for authors and translators
Public Lending Right (PLR) compensation grants and subsidies for authors and translators used
to be awarded by the Ministry of Education, but from the beginning of 2001 they have been
awarded by the Board for Public Lending Right Compensation Grants subordinate to the Central
Arts Council. The Board is divided into fiction and non-fiction divisions.
PLR compensation grants and subsidies are meant to support creative work and to aid ageing
writers and translators. The applicant’s illnesses and financial difficulties may be taken into
account when awarding subsidies. In order to qualify for a grant, the creator must have published
at least one work, except for dramatists, who must have had a play performed. These grants are
not awarded to writers or translators of scientific studies, schoolbooks or comparable works.
Fiction includes prose (novels and short stories), poetry, drama, aphorisms, children’s and
juvenile books, picture books with high-quality text and comics.
The act on some grants for writers and translators was amended in 2002 so that the Public
Lending Right Grants and Subsidies can be granted to those writers and translators ”who live or
have lived permanently in Finland and whose literature work enriches the Finnish cultural life”.
Before the amendment, only writers and translators writing in Finnish, Swedish or Sámi, who
lived or had lived permanently in Finland, could get these grants and subsidies.
The grants are divided between fiction and non-fiction with the ratio 90% - 10%. About 10% of
the grants in both groups are reserved for translators. The size of the actual grants varies from a
few hundred euros to the equivalent of the State one-year artist grant. In the 1980s, grants were
awarded as two-year or three-year grants, requiring the recipient to work almost full-time as an
artist.
59
Figure 25. Public Lending Right compensation grants to authors 1990-2005
Public Lending Right grants, million €
3,5
2.9
3
2.9
2.9
2.6
2.6
2,5
2.4
2.3
2.4
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.3
2.6
2.4
2.6
2.6
2
1,5
1
0,5
05
20
04
20
03
20
02
20
01
20
00
20
99
19
98
19
97
19
96
19
95
19
94
19
93
19
92
19
91
19
19
90
0
The total amount of PLR compensation grants and subsidies is determined by the book
acquisitions of public libraries in the preceding calendar year: it is 10% of the value of the book
acquisitions. Although PLR compensation grants and subsidies exist to compensate writers and
translators for their works being available for free in libraries, the grants are not based on lending
levels. The idea of the Public Lending Right compensation grant system is based on the principle
of copyright law, but it functions as a component part of the State support system for writers and
translators.
Because the PLR compensation grant system is linked to the book acquisitions of public
libraries, it was hit by the recession. The amount distributed peaked in 1991, when EUR 2.9
million in grants was distributed to fiction and non-fiction. The grants reached a nadir in 1996
with EUR 2.3 million.
Public Lending Right Grants for Illustrators and Comic Artists
The Central Arts Council's Subcommittee for Public Lending Right Grants for Illustrators and
Comic Artists has given out grants to illustrators for working since 2003. The grants were meant
for illustrators, whose works have been published in books, as books or in other media and for
comic artists, whose works have been published as comics or as albums or in other media.
Prizes in the book trade
The first State Prizes for Literature were awarded for scientific, fiction and popular books in
1865. It was not until 1898 that the prizes became an annual award; at that time, an appropriation
of 5,000 marks was provided by Imperial Decree to reward fiction in Finnish and Swedish.
60
Finland prizes / State Prizes for Literature
The Ministry of Education has awarded Finland prizes since 1993, replacing the previous State
Prizes in various fields of the arts. State Prizes were earlier awarded for artistic merit by the
national councils for the arts. State Prizes for Literature were awarded annually for fiction,
translated fiction and children’s and juvenile books. Also, in 1974-78 prizes for merit were
awarded to foreigners translating Finnish literature.
Due to cuts in the State budget, the prize appropriation of the national councils for the arts was
axed when the Finland prizes were set up. However, since 1995 the national councils have had
an allocation from the Finland prizes appropriation; the prizes awarded from this have been
smaller than those awarded by the Ministry of Education.
In 1999, the Ministry of Education allocated FIM 1 million from State Prize funds to the Central
Arts Council. At the same time, the State Prize system was reinstated. The Central Arts Council
decided that the State Prizes would be EUR 12,700 in size and that the national councils
themselves would decide who gets them. Two prizes were given to the National Council for
Literature to distribute, one for translators and one for writers. The national councils may also
make submissions to the Central Arts Council regarding the three extra State Prizes.
The present Arts Council and national council State Prizes can be awarded to an artist, a group or
an organisation active in the field of the arts. The State Prizes of the national councils are in
recognition of work done over the preceding three years or for a long and distinguished career in
the field.
In 1999, the Ministry of Education allocated EUR 152,500 for Finland prizes. The Finland prizes
are awarded by the Minister of Culture, assisted by a panel of representatives from various fields
of the arts. This prize money was used for nine prizes of EUR 16,800 for various distinguished
artists, two of whom were authors. In the 2000s, Finland prizes have been granted to writers one
to three annually. In 2005 an individual Finland prize was EUR 20,000.
State Prize for Merits in Children’s Culture
The State Prize for Merits in Children’s Culture can be awarded to an artist, a group of artists, an
organisation active in children’s culture or another organisation. It is awarded in recognition of
work over the preceding three years benefiting children’s culture. Long and distinguished work
to promote children’s culture may also qualify as grounds for the prize.
The national councils for the arts and the Ministry of Education’s Children’s Culture Division
make an annual submission on the recipient of the State Prize for Merits in Children’s Culture to
the Central Arts Council, which awards the prizes.
State Prizes for Merits in Children’s Culture have been awarded since 1981. Initially, three to
seven artists or groups were given the prize; since 1992, there have been one or two recipients
annually.
61
State Prize for Foreign Translators
The State Prize for Foreign Translators has been awarded since 1974 by the Ministry of
Education on submission from the Finnish Literature Information Centre. It is awarded in
recognition to a foreign translator for promoting Finnish literature.
Table 29 Foreign translators receiving the State Award for Translators
Year
1990
1991
Sum €
6 700
..
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
..
6 700
6 700
6 700
8 400
13 400
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
8 400
8 400
8 400
8 400
10 000
10 000
10 000
2005
10 000
Source: FILI, the Finnish Literature Information Centre
Translator(s)
Philip & Timothy Binham
Anu Pyykönen-Stohner &
Friedbert Stohner
Herbert Lomas
Kerstin Lindqvist
Jean-Luc Moreau
Jesús Pardo
Anselm Hollo
Nöste Kendzior &
Gisbert Jänicke
Joan Tate
Jelka Ovaska Novak
Lars Huldén
Stefan Moster
Helena Idström
Anne Colin du Terrail
Viola Parente-Capková
& Antonio Parente
Camilla Frostell
Seesam prize for Easy-to-Read literature
The Easy-to-Read working group of the Ministry of Education awards the Seesam prize for
promoting Easy-to-Read literature. Prize recipients are usually given a wooden pirunnyrkki (a
sort of traditional three-dimensional puzzle in wood), but in 1999 a cash prize of EUR 847 was
granted. Currently, the prize is EUR 1,000.
State public information prizes
The State public information prizes were first awarded in 1968. The Consultative Committee for
Public Information has submitted proposals for prize recipients to the Ministry of Education
since 1972. The prize is awarded for popular science publications in the preceding year; works
qualifying for the prize include literature, electronic media, new media, entire magazines or
articles.
62
Direct support to artists from regional arts councils
Regional arts councils support creators in the book trade directly with artist grants, project
grants, prizes and the provincial artist system.
The regional arts councils have awarded one-year artist grants since 1975; in 1984, they also
began awarding three-year and five-year grants. In 2004, when the regional artist subsidies was
EUR 3.7 million, literature received the third largest share (12%) of the artist grants of regional
arts councils after visual arts (25%) and music (17%).
The job of a provincial artist includes guiding and advising professional and amateur artists. In
2005, the salary of the provincial artists was EUR 2,100 + possible earlier accumulated
increments; the appointment is for a minimum of two and a maximum of five years.
State support for libraries
Both the Department for Education and Science Policy and the Department for Cultural, Sport
and Youth Policy support libraries. The former supports the National Repository Library, whose
task is to store and lend material transferred from scientific and public libraries.
The Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy is responsible for most library subsidies.
Various library appropriations represent most of the State support for the book trade.
Statutory state subsidies for libraries have been paid exceptionally out of lottery funds since
1995. In 2004, EUR 62 million from lottery funds was used to fund the statutory state subsidies
for libraries. The division of the lottery funds into physical education, youth work, science and
arts defined by the distribution ratio act gradually transfers the libraries´ shares of the lottery
funds to be directly financed by the State budget. This means more financing for those receiving
subsidies from the lottery funds. The act originally from 2001 was first applied in 2004.
According to the latest parliament plan, removal of the appropriations to the libraries will be
speeded up from the original ten-year transition period to eight years.
The change in basic funding has affected the libraries; payment of an earmarked State subsidy
directly to the libraries was discontinued in the 1990s. Towards the end of the decade, the
provision of library services has increasingly fallen upon local authorities.
Table 30. Ministry of Education subsidies to libraries 2002-2004 (Subsidies paid from national
lottery funds are in italics)
Appropriation
National Repository Library operating costs
Statutory state subsidies to libraries (as per the Act on the
Financing of Education and Culture)
Assistance to library organisations
State subsidies and assistance for running costs of public libraries
State subsidies for the setup costs of public libraries
Total appropriations
Total appropriations paid from national lottery funds
2002
1,251,000
2003
1, 468,000
2004
1,494,000
3,554,573
58, 599,034
58, 971, 639
3,382 000
44,504,000
6,074,882
95,577,455
38, 929,573
3, 382,000
28, 718,000
5 ,999,542
103,343,576
61, 981,034
3, 382,000
28,663,000
6,000,000
104,260,639
62,353,639
63
Supporting bookshops
The fact that the number of bookshops is decreasing limits the customer’s options in choosing a
place to buy books and compare the level of service. Online bookshops, book clubs and other
remote sales are not feasible for everybody as a replacement for bookshops. In the long run, the
lower availability of bookshop services may cause a decline in buying books and reading.
Becoming a bookseller is expensive regardless of whether one sets up a new company or buys an
existing bookshop. Apart from the necessary competence, about EUR 250,000 in start up capital
is required. This is more than the capital required for many other types of specialist shop. The
sample stock system can be considered a form of subsidy, but gaining access to it requires a
guarantee that usually has to be provided as a bank guarantee. No other forms of subsidy are
available for someone wishing to go into the bookselling business.
Apart from the normal sources of funding, prospective entrepreneurs may apply to the Stateowned Finnvera a specialised financing company, which can augment the entrepreneur’s capital
and other funding. Finnvera requires a lower level of guarantee than banks, but it does require a
corporate study before granting a loan. On the other hand, banks trust Finnvera, and gaining
additional funding can become easier after that.
A guarantee is demanded in exchange for the sample stock, particularly important for bookshops.
Most often the question is about a real, bank guarantee or bank deposit. From the beginning of
2005, it has also been possible to arrange the guarantee as security insurance. The role of the
Booksellers Association as the instigator of the arrangement was significant.
VAT on books
In 1941, a sales tax of 4-9% was introduced in Finland. Certain products such as”foodstuffs
important for public nutrition”, newspapers and magazines were excluded from the tax, but not
books.
At the beginning of 1951, sales tax was raised to 10-20%, but ”real literature” was excluded
from the tax. However, it proved difficult to define just what qualified as ”real literature”. Thus,
for ”administrative reasons”, all books were again subjected to sales tax as of 1 January 1964.
Periodic but fruitless attempts were made to exclude books from sales tax. As Finland
contemplated joining what was then the EC in the late 1980s, it was known that one condition of
membership would be the introduction of value-added tax (VAT). The book trade joined forces
in a pressure group including organisations of publishers, bookshops, writers, libraries, printers
and printing employees. Some major bookshops held a ’tax-free sales’ day to demonstrate to
consumers how much cheaper books would be if they were exempt from sales tax. A number of
enlightened politicians were also involved. Calculations were made of the effect on the national
economy of the removal of sales tax from books. Both central government and local authorities
are purchasers of books, and for those sales tax simply meant moving money from one pocket to
another.
Finland moved from sales tax to VAT on 1 June 1994. The general VAT rate was set at 22%,
with other rates at 17%, 12% and 6%. Magazine and newspaper subscriptions and most services
64
were excluded from VAT. Books were taxed at 12%. At the beginning of 1998, the 6% and 12%
tax rates were combined into a new 8% tax rate, which also applied to books.
Experiences of VAT on books
The transfer to VAT and a lower tax rate for books took place without undue difficulty. The Act
on Value-Added Tax considers that books do not include ”publications manufactured in some
other way than printing or a comparable process”, ”periodical publications”, or ”publications
containing mostly advertising”. The contents of a book must be ”legible or observable without
technical equipment”.
Problems were caused by combination products, for instance those containing a book and a
cassette or a book and a disk or CD-ROM; here, the law requires application of both the 22% and
the 8% tax rate and to quote two different prices, even though the products are never sold
separately.
Book price development
The Finnish Publishers Association and the Booksellers Association recommended to their
members that the consumer should benefit from the lowering of the tax rate that came into force
on 1 June 1994. And this did indeed happen.
Book sales development
A report published by the Finnish Consumer Agency on bookshop prices in Helsinki showed that
”the decrease in VAT has lowered book prices by 8% on average”. Book prices dropped clearly
in 1994 and remained more or less the same in 1995. Prices were also affected by numerous
other factors, such as the price of paper, which in certain years after the tax cut rose by 25% a
year. In terms of copies, the sales of general books excluding encyclopaedias and library sales
grew strongly in 1994-1996, after the lowering of the VAT rate (figure 26). At least part of the
growth can be assumed to have been caused by the drop in prices due to the tax cut
65
Figure 26. Million copies of general book sold excluding sales of encyclopaedias and sales to
libraries 1991-2004
Total number copies of general books sold
Non-fiction
Children & Juvenile
Fiction
25
million copies
20
15
10
5
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: The Finnish Publishers Association and Statistics Finland
Figure 27. Million copies of fiction books sold excluding sales of encyclopaedias and sales to
libraries 2001-2004
Fiction, number of copies sold
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
4.5
4.3
4.0
4.0
2001
2002
2003
2004
66
Figure 28. Million copies of Children’s and Juvenile books sold excluding sales of
encyclopaedias and sales to libraries 2001-2004
Children's and Juvenile books, number of copies sold
10
9
8.7
7.4
million copies
8
7.0
6.8
2003
2004
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2001
2002
Any change in VAT has virtually no effect on the sales of schoolbooks or encyclopaedias. It also
has no impact on library purchases, since the State reimburses the local authority for the VAT in
the prices. These should thus be deducted from overall sales in estimating the impact of the
lowering of the VAT rate.
Figure 29. Million copies of non-fiction books sold excluding sales of encyclopaedias and
sales to libraries 2001-2004
million copies
Non-fiction, number of copies sold
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
6.7
2001
6.5
2002
6.7
7.0
2003
2004
67
Lowering the VAT rate on books
Table 30. Sales of general books excluding sales to libraries and sales of encyclopaedias 19882004 in million €
Sales of general books excluding sales to libraries and
sales of encyclopeadias
180
160
140
111
milj. €
120
100
80
75
84
90
84
128 123 131
117 119
137
144 147 149
155
85
60
40
20
19
88
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
0
The lower VAT rate has also improved the competitive position of Finnish bookshops with
regard to foreign Internet bookshops. A company based in an EU Member State and exporting
books to Finland must register in Finland if the value of exports exceeds EUR 33,000 per year,
including Finnish VAT. If a company has not registered in Finland, customs will not charge an
individual for VAT on an item costing less than EUR 105, because in such a case the VAT
would be less than EUR 8, which according to the rule need not be collected.
Exempting books and comparable products from VAT altogether would be a significant boost
for the book trade. Also, tax exemption would remove the competitive edge of foreign
bookshops, particularly Internet bookshops.
There are experiences of previous tax cuts: it is known that the price of books will go down and
sales will grow. The net State income from VAT on books can be calculated as follows. Book
sales in Finland in 2004 were 496 million euros. Applying the 8% VAT rate, the gross income
from VAT on books is 39.7 million euros. However, VAT paid by the State itself and by local
authorities should be deducted at about 8 million euros, since these purchases account for about
20% of total sales. Company purchases account for about 7% of total sales; they can deduct the
VAT they pay; 2.8 million euros from their VAT payments. Thus, the State gets a net income
from VAT on books of 28.9 million euros in 2004, which is the sum that the State would lose in
case Finland had 0% VAT on books as subscriptions of newspapers and magazines have.
68
Some European countries, for example Britain, have a 0% VAT rate on books, although their
language areas are considerably broader than that of Finland. When entering the EU Britain
made an agreement that books could be taxed at 0%. EU has listed books as products that may be
taxed at a lower VAT rate. Most countries in Europe use a lower VAT rate for books. Of the EU
counties Denmark is the only exception with 25% VAT on books. See Table 31 .
Table 31. The VAT rates on books and the general VAT in the EU countries
and in Norway & Switzerland 2005
Country
Denmark
Slovakia
Austria
Slovenia
Finland
Germany
Sweden
Belgium
Netherlands
France
Hungary
Czech Republic
Portugal
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Estonia
Cyprus
Greece
Italy
Spain
Luxembourg
Switzerland
Norway
Poland
Ireland
UK
VAT on
books
General
VAT rate
25
19
10
8.5
8
7
6
6
6
5.5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4.5
4
4
3
2
0
0
0
0
25
19
20
20
22
16
25
21
19
19.6
25
19
21
18
18
18
18
15
19
20
16
15
6.5
24
22
21
17.5
Source: European Booksellers Federation
69
PRIVATE AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR BOOKS
Finnish Reproduction Rights Organisation (Kopiosto)
In the 1970s, permission to copy publications had to be sought from both creators and publishers.
In 1978, organisations from various fields founded the Finnish Reproduction Rights
Organisation (Kopiosto) to simplify the permission procedure and prevent copyright
infringements based on illegal copying. Creators and publishers are represented in Kopiosto by
44 member organisations.
Kopiosto is a copyright society whose remit is to monitor the development of copyright and
legislation, submit proposals to develop legislation and assist members in copyright matters.
Creators and publishers have authorised their organisations to safeguard their interests, and these
organisations have further transferred their authority to Kopiosto. The work of Kopiosto is based
on the Copyright Act and the authorisation of 46,000 creators and publishers for Kopiosto to
grant permission to copy works. Kopiosto grants permission for photocopying, taping of radio
and TV programmes, use of such recordings and distributing radio broadcasts by cable.
Kopiosto issues photocopying permits to educational institutions, public administration,
companies and other organisations. These photocopying agreements entitle the parties to limited
copying of Finnish and foreign material. Copying fees are distributed through member
organisations to creators as grants and prizes, and to publishers mainly as direct compensation.
Copying fees consist mainly of fees paid by educational institutions. The total for copying fees
was in 2004 EUR 8.9 million, of which 67% came from educational institutions, 18% from
public administration and 15% from trade and industry.
The trend in copying fees from 1990 to 2004 granted to publishers’, writers’ and other
organisations is shown in Figure 28.
Figure 31. Compensation for copying in million euros, 1990-2004
Compensation for copying in million €
6
4.8
5
4.4
4
3.5
3
2
1
1.3
0,9
1.5
1.5
1.8
1.9
2.1
2.3
2.3
2.5
2.1
0.8
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: Kopiosto
70
Figure 32 displays the combined Kopiosto fees by organisation, showing that 78% of the fees go
to the Finnish Publishers Association and the Finnish Association of Non-Fiction Authors. The
Finnish Publishers Association redistributes part of this income to publishers and uses some of
the money for the Finlandia prizes.
Figure 32. Total amount of compensation for copying to different associations, 1990-2004
Compensation for copying total for the years 1990-2004
Finnish Association
of Translators
and Intepreters
3%
Other associations
24 %
Finnish Publishers
Association
39 %
Finnish
Association of
Technical Science
Publishers
3%
Finnish Publishers
of Music
4%
Grafia
4%
Finnish Association
of Non-fiction
Writers
23 %
Source: Kopiosto
Radio fees
The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) has an agreement on fiction performance fees with
the Union of Finnish Writers and the Society of Swedish Authors in Finland. The Union of
Finnish Writers distributes radio fees to Finnish writers writing in Finnish, while the Society of
Swedish Authors in Finland distributes radio fees to Finnish writers writing in Swedish and to
Nordic writers. This fee system is of little significance to the livelihood of Swedish-speaking
Finnish writers, since most of the fees distributed by the Society of Swedish Authors in Finland
go to the other Nordic countries. In 2004, the Union of Finnish Writers received EUR 36,910 in
radio fees, while the Society of Swedish Authors in Finland received EUR 56,000.
Foundations
A study of foundations supporting the arts conducted in 1993 and 1997 examined 234
independent cultural and arts foundations. Only 13 of these (5.6%) focused on literature.
However, in 1997 funding for literature was awarded by 19 foundations, some of them active in
several fields of the arts.
71
The study showed that support for literature from foundations increased from EUR 0.4 million in
1993 to EUR 0.8 million in 1997. Literature was the third most frequently supported field of the
arts after music and visual arts, receiving one tenth of all subsidies, grants and prizes awarded by
foundations.
Table 32. Support from major private foundations to the book trade 1998-2003
Svenska Kulturfonden Swedish Cultural Foundation
Suomen Kulttuurirahasto Finnish Cultural Foundation
The Foundation of
Jenny and Antti Wihurin
Föreningen Konstsamfundet
Society of Fine Arts
(for publications)
The Foundation of Alfred
Kordelin (for translating fiction)
The Foundation of Alfred
Kordelin (for fiction)
Total
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
126.0
123.4
134.7
269.9
171.0
239.5
282.9
322.0
433.5
726.9
802.0
859.9
220.8
287.3
312.8
412.9
398.2
397.0
203.0
234.0
277.0
312.0
274.0
835.0
23.5
17.7
25.1
26.9
18.0
18.0
78.2
113.5
129.5
143.0
143.4
143.0
934,4
1097.9
1,312.6
1,891.6
1,806.6
2,492.4
Source: Cultural Statistics 2003, Statistics Finland
Business companies
According to the work (2005) by Pekka Oesch Yritysten tuki taiteille 2003 ja tuen muutokset
1993–2003 the support by industries to literature was 47,614 euros in 2003 or 1.6% of the total
subsidies (2,944,597 euros). Most of the subsidies for literature (38%) came from the category
other fields of operations and the second most was literature supported by the wholesale and
retail trade (27%). In both categories the support was given by a single business.
Businesses in insurance as well as transport, storage and telecommunications did not support
literature in 2003. Oesch´s research is based on a sample of 1,245 businesses of which 540 were
large businesses and 705 small or medium businesses. Mostly the businesses supported music
(52%, viewed by the field of art, visual arts (45%) and dramatic arts (36%). Literature was in
seventh position (12%) after museums (17%), cinematic art (13%) and cultural inheritance
(13%).
Primarily the businesses supported literature in 2003 through sponsorship (71% of the support).
15 % was for marketing co-operation, while literature foundations, funds and societies, as well as
art institutes, were given 10 %. Only 1 % was for literature acquisitions.
Book trade associations and organisations
Associations and organisations in the book trade award grants and prizes to creators in the field.
The funding for these comes mainly from Kopiosto fees, but the Society of Swedish Authors in
Finland, for instance, is responsible for awarding grants from small independent funds. In 1998,
the Finnish Association of Non-Fiction Writers awarded EUR 995,250 in grants; the Finnish
72
Association of Translators and Interpreters EUR 73,291 and the Union of Finnish Writers EUR
56,000.
The Finlandia prize
The largest literary prizes in Finland are the Finlandia prizes for fiction, non-fiction and
children’s literature. They are EUR 26,000 each and are awarded by the Book Foundation of
Finland. The Book Foundation of Finland was founded by the Ministry of Education and the
Finnish Book Publishers Association in 1983. The funding for the prizes comes from Kopiosto
fees paid to publishers and the Society for Non-Fiction Authors. The Finlandia prize for fiction
was first awarded in 1985, followed by the first Tieto-Finlandia (non-fiction) in 1989 and the
first Finlandia Junior in 1997.
Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers
The Nordic Council was founded in 1952 as a co-operative organ for the parliaments and
governments of Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Finland joined in 1955. The
autonomous regions of Åland, the Faroes and Greenland also participate in the Council’s work.
In 1971, the Nordic Council of Ministers was founded as an intergovernmental body that makes
submissions to the Nordic Council, implements its recommendations and reports on the results of
co-operation.
The Nordic literature and library committee (NORDBOK) was subordinate to the Nordic
Council of Ministers, which appointed it to develop and reinforce Nordic co-operation in the
field of literature and between libraries. NORDBOK has subsidised Nordic writers’ courses,
Nordic translation seminars and various literary projects. Library subsidies have been available
for organising courses, seminars and research projects that have joint Nordic significance. In
June 2005, the Nordic Council of Ministers decided to reform Nordic cultural co-operation. In
connection with the reform, among other things, NORDBOK was discontinued, but the activities
of the discontinued committees and institutes continue through Nordic theme programmes.
Translation subsidies
In 1973, the Nordic Council of Ministers decided to introduce an experimental measure of
translation subsidies for quality literature, intended for translations from one Nordic language to
another. In 1990s, funding was also awarded to translations of Nordic works into the languages
of the Baltic States and Russian. The support was also awarded for translating Baltic and Russian
literature into Nordic languages. Translation support has been regularly awarded since 1977,
with about 150 applications approved annually. The subsidy is paid to the publisher.
During the last few years, grants were also awarded to private individuals, who translated from
Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian into Nordic languages. In 2005 the Nordic translation support
was NOK 2.3 million (EUR 296,000). The translation support of the Nordic languages, Baltic
languages, as well as Russian language was DKK 500,000 (EUR 68,600).
73
Nordic Council Literature Prize
The Nordic Council Literature Prize has been awarded annually since 1962. In 2005, the prize
was DKK 350,000 (EUR 47,000). Nordic works of fiction published during the previous two
years (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish) or four years (other languages) are eligible for the
Prize.
The Prize is awarded by a ten-member expert committee with two members each from Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. If necessary, further members from the Faroes,
Greenland and the Sámi are invited to join.
Nordic funds
The Nordic Cultural Fund and bilateral funds support Nordic cultural co-operation. To qualify
for a grant from the Nordic Cultural Fund, a project must involve at least three Nordic countries.
Recipients of grants are usually organisations and societies.
Bilateral funds — the Icelandic-Finnish Cultural Fund, the Finnish-Norwegian Cultural
Fund and the Finnish-Danish Cultural Fund — promote extensive cultural and social cooperation and mutual awareness between their respective countries. They award mainly travel
grants. The Finnish-Swedish Cultural Fund, on the other hand, awards general grants, cultural
grants, translator grants and artist-in-residence grants.
DEVELOPING THE BOOK TRADE
Training
There are both trained professionals and autodidacts in the book trade. There is no appropriate
academic degree for prose writers, poets or comics creators.
Literary art teaching
Statutory basic education in arts outside the formal education system is given in literary art as in
other fields. According to legislation that came into effect in 1992, basic education in arts
education lays the foundation for entering vocational and higher arts education. Organising basic
education in arts is the responsibility of the local authorities; it is intended primarily for children
and adolescents.
There were 18 literary art education units in 2004, with 814 art education. 560 pupils were
involved, and two full-time teachers and 28 part-time teachers were employed in literary art
teaching.
74
Writer training
There has only been writer training for about 20 years, if the teaching given in comprehensive
and upper secondary schools is excluded. The State subsidises writer training through the
regional arts councils and through creative writing appropriations and reading appropriations
The most extensive writing course at the university level is given by the Open University writer
training programme at the University of Jyväskylä. The basic and subject studies are done at the
Open University, but since autumn 2002, it has been possible to do the advanced studies in the
Department of Literature of the University of Jyväskylä.
Creative writing can also be learnt at the university level in the dramaturgy department of the
Theatre Academy of Finland, the University of Turku, as well as the University of Helsinki and
Åbo Academy continuing education centres.
Publishing training
The joint Publishing Training Committee of the Finnish Publishers Association and the
Association of Publishing Editors organises courses primarily for publishing editors, suitable in
part also for heads of publishing or editing and for small publishers. There is no university-level
publishing training in Finland.
Bookshop training
The Booksellers Association and the Marketing Institute have jointly organised basic training for
booksellers for nearly 30 years. The professional title for a bookseller is librist. Upon graduating,
students receive a certificate of their librist’s qualification and, having passed a proficiency test,
a certificate of Further Qualification of Shop Assistant. In recent years, bookshop IT content has
been increased in librist training.
The Booksellers Association and Suomen Liikemiesten Kauppaopisto – ATK-Instituutti (SLK –
Finnish Business College) jointly organise a special vocational degree of trade manager applied
to the book trade, which will prepare those who already work in the trade for running a bookshop
and becoming an independent entrepreneur.
The Continuing Education Centre of the University of Jyväskylä has organised the three-year
Kirjakauppa 2000 (Bookshop 2000) training programme subsidised by the Ministry of Education
and the European Social Fund, in which 60 people from 41 companies have participated.
The largest bookshops and voluntary chains organise internal training, aiming at both exploiting
the strengths of the chain and improving professional skills in general.
Library training
University-level library training is given at the Departments of Information Studies at the
Universities of Tampere and Oulu and, in Swedish, at Åbo Akademi University in Turku.
75
Polytechnics also provide library training. Under the new education system, the polytechnic
basic business degree includes an information and library services training programme, which
will begin in autumn 2000 at the earliest.
The most important place for further training is the Continuing Education Centre of the
University of Tampere, which specialises in IT training specifically for libraries. The Finnish
Library Association and the Finland’s Swedish Library Association offer specialist training for
their members.
Joint training
There is a need for further and complementary training for everyone in the book trade. The
logistics chain of content production, storage, distribution and use is constantly changing. The
smooth functioning of this chain requires a degree of co-operation greater than ever. It is
increasingly important for all parties to speak the same language, use the same terms for the
same things and realise that they do not have to do everything themselves. The work of other
people can and should be used according to jointly agreed rules, as long as the copyright of
content producers is respected. 12 students have graduated from the University of Jyväskylä
Book-MBA programme 1999-2003.
Data and research in the book trade
Training is not enough; research from a variety of perspectives is also necessary for
development. The studies and statistical reviews published by the Central Arts Council and used
for this report are essential source documents. Current information on book publishing,
bookselling and reading is collated annually from the Finnish Publishers Association, the
Helsinki University Library and public libraries. Research data is mainly generated by
universities, the National Consumer Research Centre and commercial market research
companies.
Starting from 1994 the Booksellers´ Association has had made an Indicator study measuring the
operations and profitability of a bookshop which is carried out by the Statistics Finland. Turku
School of Economics and Business Administration has since 1990 compiled Economic Statistics
of the Graphic Arts Industry, in which, for example, the book publishers have been examined as
a separate group.
Statistics
The annual statistics of the Finnish Publishers Association cover an estimated 90% of all Finnish
books sold. The Helsinki University Library records all titles published. Statistics Finland
combines these two sources of information. Since 1997, the Booksellers Association has
commissioned a report from Statistics Finland on book sales by distribution channel, based on
the company register and VAT data.
The Ministry of Education collects data for library statistics from the public libraries annually;
these include information on library collections, acquisitions and lending figures. The National
76
Unit of Electronic Library Service at the Helsinki University Library collects similar data from
scientific libraries. Maintaining these statistics is important for an overview of the publishing,
sale and use of books.
There is a clear need for statistics in the field of cultural activities, and two important works have
recently been released: Cultural statistics 2003, Statistics Finland and Finnish Mass Media
2004, Statistics Finland.
Comparison of book trade statistics between countries is problematical, which is true of
comparing statistics in general. Work is needed to develop international standards. Digital
products and e-commerce are potential new subjects for statistics now their sales volumes are
growing.
Studies and projects
Books and their future, particularly the effects of digitalisation on the trade and its actors, have
been studied by several researchers in recent years.
The Continuing Education Centre of the University of Tampere produced Finland’s contribution
to the New Book Economy BIS project. This concentrated on the impact of digitalisation on the
book trade.
The summary report of the research programme mapping out the future views in the book trade
KIRJA 2010 - kirja-alan kehitystrendit was completed in 2001. The summary report can be read
in English at www.jyu.fi/nykykulttuuri/Kirja2010/book2010.pdf
The government has made plans and designed programmes to develop the cultural industry.
Particular attention has been given to bringing content production to the same high level as basic
IT competence. A training and research strategy meeting the requirements of the information
society has also been drawn up. These projects are also important to the book trade, even if they
do not focus specifically on books.
Information society
The information society can be defined as a state of existence where a significant amount of
work is to generate, convey and exploit information. The information society can also be
simplified as environs, where business carried out by personal meetings, correspondence or
phone, can be handled through the information networks.
In 2005 over 60 % of the 15-79 year-old Finns used the Internet at least once a week. More than
every second household has an Internet connection and more than half of them are broad-band
connections. All the schools have computers, which are also used in instruction. It is possible to
use the Internet free in practically all public libraries.
Most Finns are able to conduct business through the information network. A significant number
of adults know how to conduct business through the information network. Some who have the
opportunity and the know-how to use the Internet to conduct business, prefer, however, to use
the traditional methods.
77
Service through the information networks has advanced furthest in banking where two
significant information security questions have been solved successfully and satisfactorily.
Clients rely on private matters not becoming known to a third party and that the parties can
reliably recognise each other. Opportunities to conduct business with authorities through the
Internet have grown significantly during the past few years. Internet shopping has grown in
recent years.
Products of the information society include, online versions of newspapers and magazines,
ebooks, virtual libraries lending out ebooks and while services are provided free through the
Internet at first, at least some services will charge a fee. While aiming at the information society
that there is a conflict to some extent when the same content printed, enjoys in most EU
countries, including Finland, a discounted VAT rate, the digital version, both as a recording and
online, does not qualify for the discounted VAT rate.
Digital products
One can consider the digitalisation of conveying information as an essential part of the
information society, just as that earlier conveyed in a printed form. CD-ROMs and DVDs on
which great expectations were placed towards the end of the 1990s, have not established
themselves as a publishing form for a book, but the ebooks – mainly the non-fiction and science
books - solely distributed on the Internet are quickly becoming increasingly common. So far only
a few ebooks are independent works, nearly all are parallel versions of printed books.
The online net versions of newspapers and magazines meant for the general public are also
mainly parallel products of the print versions. Scientific journals have advanced furthest in
online publishing.
There is no long experience of digital recordings remaining viable. Possible threats to content
preservation are, for example, temporary high temperatures, mechanical damage and strong
magnetic fields. Due to changes in technology some of the recordings made at the beginning of
the computer age are already unreadable, because there is no equipment for reading them. Some
of the recordings, on the other hand, cannot be read or can only be read with difficulty, because
programs used to make them are no longer in use.
78
Figure 33. Number of digital books and other book-like products published 1995-2004
Audiovisual products
Offline-products
Online-products
Number of products
1000
881
900
numbers of procucts
800
700
600
538
500
424
402
353
384
400
333
318
283
300
200
100
522507
470
130
170
127
69
59
2
4
1995
1996
394
289
184
101
207
186
134
65
127
65
11
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
One must secure the preservation of contents that are only in the form of documents on a server,
for example, ebooks, so that the information is on several servers functionally independent of
each other or as back-up copies in some recording. While programs are being further developed,
the content must also be produced in a form that new programs are able to read.
It is possible to receive and read the digital content by a computer, by equipment developed
especially for reading, by mobile phones, MP3 players, digital television or equipment that is
still on the drawing board. Content application suitable for all the different equipment is not
particularly difficult technically, but it is a cost that must be taken into account.
The number of titles of electronic publication products categorised as books published by the
members of the Finnish Publishers Association is given in Figure 33.
79
Figure 34. Net sale of Digital books and other book-like products 1994-2004, in 1000 €
excluding VAT 1995-2005
Sales of electronic products in 1,000€ (classified as books)
Online-products
Offline-products
Audiovisual products
14000
12000
1,000 €
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Source: Finnish Publishers Association
Technological development produces new tools and ways of conveying information to others.
Even in producing content in digital form some thought should be given to how permanent this
content is intended to be. How can we safeguard the preservation of at least one original copy
that can be used or copied with tools available years in the future? What should be stored on CDROM or DVD, and what should only be provided online? In Finland, provisions for multimedia
recordings are being added to the Legal Deposit Act, so they will be defined as equivalent to
books. However, at present the VAT rate is the higher one – 22 %.
How should content be shaped so that it is feasible to receive it through a digital TV, computer,
mobile phone, ebook or other media?
It is already technically possible to implement ‘Book on demand’, but little use has been made of
the possibility to print single copies or short print runs. The main issue in ‘Book on demand’ is
the management of digital material and the financial interests and rights inherent in it, starting
with copyright protection and the assessment of copyright remuneration.
80
The future of books
A printed book is easy to carry. The ebook and other digital media will not replace the book or
printed matter in general, but they will doubtless find a niche alongside them. Nearly every adult
prefers a printed book to digital content in a digital device. Today, many children get acquainted
with the monitor screen before the printed page. Will these children feel more at home with a
digital display device when they grow up?
In the near future books will retain their position alongside other media of communication and
entertainment, although its relative importance in the time and money spent by people will
decrease. The market for printed books will not grow significantly. Some companies in the field
will diversify into new media publication and selling.
Content production and digital printing will enable the release of titles to smaller target groups at
reasonable prices. A published book need never go out of print unless the author or publisher so
decides. It will become easier to update works of non-fiction.
CONCLUSION
During the past decade, the share of consumers as book buyers has significantly grown, because
of the shift in the distribution of financial responsibility between the local authorities and the
central government and because of the recession in the 1990s, the municipalities have cut their
expenditure. Book acquisitions by public libraries have dropped by 32% in ten years.
Acquisitions of books and other material by scientific libraries have also decreased as basic
funding for universities has been reduced. The purchases by businesses and other communities
have not significantly grown.
A book’s stay in the sample stock of an average bookshop’s basic collection has shortened from
a good two years to just over a year during the last decade. This easily gives the impression that
the book´s life cycle would have significantly shortened, even though this is not necessarily the
case. The truth is that special methods must be used to try to sell quicker than normal a poorly
selling book. On the other hand, a book with a natural demand will be re-printed – more often as
a paperback.
The official languages of Finland are spoken by very few people (Finnish by 4.8 million,
Swedish 300,000 and Sámi less than 2,000). Therefore, the number of copies in a book’s printruns are small, with a few exceptions. For the same reason, there are few writers in Finland, who
earn their living by merely writing books.
Language and literature are historically linked to national identity and cohesion in Finland. The
first Finnish literature prizes were awarded from Senate funds in 1865 for a scientific work, a
work of fiction and a work of ‘popular appeal’. Since then, State support for the book trade has
increased in scope. In 2004, the Ministry of Education subsidised libraries by EUR 104.3
million. Support for book acquisitions in particular has a positive impact on the entire book
trade.
Direct State subsidies to creators in the book trade were EUR 4.9 million in 2004. The largest
single allocation, nearly EUR 2.6 million, was for Public Lending Right grants for authors and
81
translators. However, since these are linked to the volume of book acquisitions by libraries, they
have declined considerably in the 1990s.
Nevertheless, the future of the printed book in Finland seems bright. The numbers per capita of
titles published, books sold and books borrowed from libraries are high by international
comparison. The average level of education is rising, and studies show that this makes people
more eager to buy and read books. The development of digital content and reading devices and
the enthusiasm with which Finns are adopting new communications technologies present a
challenge to the printed book as a medium. The book trade must be prepared to meet this
challenge by making use of the potential of the new technology.
However, the future of books and the book trade is wholly dependent on future readers. Will
they continue to feel that a book is by far the simplest, least disturbance-prone and individual
conveyance for information and enjoyment?
Carita Nyström, author:
“When I open a book and begin to read, not only my intellect and imagination are
engaged; the reading is in itself a highly physical action where my various senses work
together. My eyes capture the words on the paper, my ears hear — even if only in my
head — the sound of the words, my nose smells the scent of the paper and ink, perhaps of
glue or leather, my fingers feel the texture of the paper (soft or coated) and the binding
(soft or hard).
“Reading is a very individual, even intimate action, but a reader is also part of the largest
audience for any art form. And this is not all — the reader is also a member of, and
justifies the existence of, a wide infrastructure of authors, publishers, libraries and
booksellers.”
82
Important events in the book trade
Year
1458
1488
1620
1640
1686
1725
1794
1829
1831
1835-36
1848
1858
1865
1866
1870
1885
1897
1903
1908
1908
1919
1919
1927
1939
1941
1948
1951
1961
1964
1964
1968
1990
1992
1994
1995
1997
1998
1999
2001
2001
2003
Event
Gutenberg prints the Bible
Finland’s first book, the Missale Aboense, is published
The bookbinder Michell Panther founds Finland’s first real bookshop in Turku
The Academy of Turku, Finland’s first university, is founded
Literacy is made compulsory by church law
The clergy are charged with holding catechetical meetings to inspect reading skills
Finland’s first public library is founded in Vaasa
Copyright is first provided for in Finnish legislation in the Printing Decree
Finnish Literature Society founded — oldest publisher of general books in Finland
Publication of Elias Lönnrot’s Kalevala (National epos of Finland)
Publication of J.L. Runeberg’s Fänrik Ståhls sägner (Tales of Ensign Ståhl); vol. II 1860
The Finnish Book Publishers Association (SKY) is founded
The first State Prizes for Literature are awarded
The four-year primary school system is set up. The School Library Act is enacted.
Publication of Aleksis Kivi’s Seitsemän veljestä (The Seven Brothers)
The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland is founded
The Union of Finnish Literary Writers, later the Union of Finnish Writers, is founded
The Finnish Retail Bookshop Association, later the Finnish Booksellers Ass., is founded
Bookshop regulations and retail price maintenance are introduced
The Finnish Librarians’ Union, later the Finnish Library Association, is founded
The Society of Swedish Authors in Finland is founded
Kirjavälitys Oy is founded as a wholesaler for the entire book trade
The first specific act on copyright is enacted
Frans Eemil Sillanpää receives the Nobel Prize for literature
Sales tax is introduced on a variety of products including books
The sample stock system in its present form is introduced
Books are exempted from sales tax
The new Copyright Act is enacted
The Act on Promotion of Economic Competition comes into force
Books again subject to sales tax
The Act on Promotion of the Arts comes into force; the Central Arts Council, the national
councils for the arts and the provincial arts councils are founded
Finland’s first book club — Suuri Suomalainen Kirjakerho — is founded
Retail price maintenance is discontinued in the book trade
The Finnish Reproduction Rights Organisation (Kopiosto) is founded
The first Finlandia prize is awarded to Reino Paasilinna for Yksinäisyys ja uhma
(Loneliness and defiance)
New Competition Act — the Finnish Book Publishers Association and Booksellers
Association abandon recommended trade terms
The first Turku Book Fair takes place
Fennica CD-ROM database introduced
Sales tax becomes VAT; VAT on books drops from 22% to 12%
Finland joins the EU, term of copyright protection extended from 50 to 70 years
The first World Book Day is celebrated
VAT on books drops from 12% to 8%
Universities of Helsinki and Tampere begin to accept dissertations in digital form
The EU Copyright Directive is passed
The first Helsinki Book Fair takes place
Kirjavälitys buys Libri distribution and a merger takes place
2005
Parliament passes a revised copyright law based on the EU Copyright Directive
1968
1971
1978
1984
1988

The book trade in Finland

Transcription

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