Minister of Culture Heidy Purga told Kuku Radio that a previously planned cut in state funding for public libraries next year has now been scrapped.
Purga said the decision was the result of negotiations between the ministry and libraries. She noted that public libraries form an important cultural and community network in Estonia.
"We at the Ministry of Culture have found the funding needed to maintain the subsidy and next year we will be able to provide it at the same level," Purga said. She added that this would not involve cutting anyone else's operating subsidies.
Purga said that, in addition to subsidies for acquiring library materials, the Ministry of Culture also supports the development of public library collections and services through other measures. "The library accelerator program, which is aimed at libraries in various local municipalities, has gotten off to a very good start," she said.
Last week, Ministry of Culture library adviser Ülle Talihärm told ERR that €1.77 million had been earmarked for public library acquisitions in 2027, compared with €1.87 million last year. "The decrease is linked to the 10 percent budget cut spread across multiple years in the state budget," Talihärm said.
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