Laukaa closes all libraries for weeks during peak summer

All libraries in the central Finnish municipality of Laukaa are closed for several weeks this summer, with no self-service access or book returns available during the shutdowns, Yle reports.

The main library in Laukaa is closed from late June until 19 July, while the Lievestuore branch is shut for three weeks and Vihtavuori for five weeks. Leppävesi library is closed due to relocation. The municipality’s mobile library service was discontinued earlier this year as a cost-saving measure.

Minna Puntala, head of Laukaa’s library services, attributes the closures to municipal austerity measures and staffing shortages. Two employees retired this year, and over the past decade, the library’s staff has been nearly halved. She notes that the library must adapt its operations to available personnel.

“Everyday life is such that I’m asked whether we can order cotton gloves,” Puntala says.

Juha Manninen, executive director of the Finnish Library Association, calls the extended closures serious, particularly if they become standard practice. He stresses that library services are a constitutional right in Finland and that libraries serve as vital public interfaces for tasks beyond borrowing books, such as digital access and official errands.

Puntala acknowledges public frustration, with some residents attempting to enter closed branches. She defends the closures as necessary to ensure statutory duties are met, including school cooperation and events in the autumn. Usage patterns in summer are unpredictable, though families with children remain frequent visitors.

Municipalities in Finland determine the scope of library services, and Laukaa’s austerity measures apply across all departments. Puntala emphasises that budget decisions are political, and current allocations do not permit hiring additional staff.