The decade that shook the Library World: Assessing library expenditure and regional disparities in Europe

This article reviews public library expenditure in Europe in the years 2011-2022 – with reference to the years 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2022 – in ten countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Library expenditures and library acquisitions decreases are considered in the single countries, compared to the progress of their national GDPs and budgetary reductions. Documents produced by international organisations and European library associations seem to neglect library disparities in Europe – a stumbling block not only for library development, but also for the widespread diffusion of innovation. The average purchasing power for acquisitions and the number of newly acquired books are also considered. By 2026, an OMC (Open Method of Coordination) Group of Expert will release a report within the Council of the European Union framework. They will recommend a European policy on libraries and advise on the best means of supporting it. OMC Experts may use data included in this article to come out with a report where future challenges are supported by concrete proposals of a sustained policy on European funding for libraries, with proposals of reducing disparities between Northern and South-Eastern European libraries. It would be a missed opportunity, indeed, if the OMC report does not meet the full spectrum of European library needs, is not envisaging a special action for left behind libraries, and translates itself into a mere dream book of themes, to be implemented by an élite of public libraries in some regions of Europe only.