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This paper aims to provide an overview of the current situation as it relates to library acts and prominent usage trends in public libraries in The Netherlands and Finland.

The approach takes the form of a review of the relevant legislation, as well as statistical analysis from national library data in The Netherlands and Finland.

The findings suggest that while we can see a decrease in physical lending and literacy, we also see an increase in the number of visitors, digital lending as well as activities and events. In addition, in The Netherlands, financial support is decreasing, while in Finland, expenditures of public libraries are growing.

The paper draws upon various viewpoints from public libraries in The Netherlands and Scandinavia, focusing on Finland.