Keuruu estimates archive overhaul could cost up to €300,000
Thursday 15th October 2026 on 14:45 in
Finland
Keuruu expects to spend up to €300,000 on bringing its archives and information management up to the standard required by law, Yle reports. The city in Central Finland estimates the work will take two to three years.
A new archiving law that came into force this summer does not add to municipalities’ obligations, but it may increase their workload. Municipalities need to reorganise how they archive records and assess which material is nationally significant. They can submit proposals to the National Archives, which makes the final decisions.
The aim is to make public-sector records across Finland more consistently archived so they can be used more effectively by citizens, researchers and organisations. The change is expected to bring savings over time, but many municipalities have backlogs and have yet to digitise much of their material.
Keuruu has been digitising its records since 2020, but most of its archive remains undigitised. The city’s director of group services, Päivi Vauhkonen, said it would need to hire at least one part-time worker. The estimated total cost is €100,000 to €300,000, including information systems.
Vauhkonen said the expense could reduce funding for other services unless the state provides separate funding. She said municipalities also need a sufficiently long transition period, suggesting five years as one possibility.
The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities says many municipalities have accumulated an archiving backlog because digitisation has been under-resourced. Its specialist Heli Hänninen said digital archiving requires changes to working practices and more expertise in records and information management. Municipalities are seeking guidance from the National Archives, which has asked them to submit comments on implementing the law by 19 October.
Olli Savo of the National Archives said the law does not create new obligations for municipalities. He said the criteria for assessing the archival value of records already existed, although they had not previously been written into law.