Well, library budget cuts are not unheard of in Finland either. The biggest cuts occurred in the big depression that hit the country in the early 1990s, and spending has never reached the same levels again. That said it's easy to believe that libraries are still better than in many other countries. They remain free, where others have introduced fees for the library card or for computer usage.
A bit of background: Finnish is a small language with only 5 millions speakers. So books cost 2-3 times as much as in central Europe, although the currency is the same (Euro). That might be an additional factor for the high number of loans.
The observation that libraries are a place to socialize sounds strange to me. Except in the cafeteria, which exist only in the very biggest libraries, conversations are not allowed. So yes, libraries can he full of people when it's dark and cold out there. But it's perfectly silent.
It really depends on the design of the library in question. In iso omena the new library is very open and integrated with social/welfare services so some noise is expected. The library host a wide range of things of public interest such as instrument rooms, conference rooms(free for individuals), vr rooms, pc's for gaming, 3d printing and probably more I'm not aware of. I've noticed a lot of school aged kids just hanging out and socializing in the library. If you really need a quiet space to focus then there is a special study room where noise is not allowed.
The culture of silence is certainly changing; as the article states, libraries are becoming more multi-use, and separate soundproofed reading rooms are provided for those who desire silence.
As a speaker of the least spoken language availanle on Google Translate (Icelandic), it never accured to me that language frequency could be tied to book prices; it makes perfect sense. A new book here can cost ~$50, which is why I prefer importing English-language books from the US.
> The observation that libraries are a place to socialize sounds strange to me. Except in the cafeteria, which exist only in the very biggest libraries, conversations are not allowed.
This. The local libraries in most small towns in Finland are very quiet. Still nice libraries, though.
A bit of background: Finnish is a small language with only 5 millions speakers. So books cost 2-3 times as much as in central Europe, although the currency is the same (Euro). That might be an additional factor for the high number of loans.
The observation that libraries are a place to socialize sounds strange to me. Except in the cafeteria, which exist only in the very biggest libraries, conversations are not allowed. So yes, libraries can he full of people when it's dark and cold out there. But it's perfectly silent.
(I live in Finland)