No. 21

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Lending allowance and reading preferences

As of 2004, lending allowance is paid to authors and holders of copyright in Estonia for their books being lent from public libraries.

The Estonian lending allowance system was built on the model of the solutions functioning in the international practice and it is based on two principal positions, like the relevant systems of other countries: the right of authors to receive the allowance and to use the allowance amounts to support cultural self-expression has to be recognised. A by-product of the lending allowance is a representative overview of what is read more because, since lending data derive from public libraries, they reveal the preferences of the widest range of readers. It appears that international best-selling writers are best represented in the lending ranking lists in Estonia. Among other reasons, this may have been brought about by the acquisition policy of libraries because when comparing the samples, it appeared that the best works of modern Estonian literature are bought in increasingly smaller numbers by public libraries. Therefore, the author proposes to start to target the acquisition in public libraries of Estonia within the framework of culture policy as is done in Norway for preservation and promotion of their literary culture.

Full article in Estonian

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