
5.3.4 Literature and libraries
A specific Act on Libraries was abolished in 1987 due to general political ideas on governmental decentralisation. During the decentralisation process, prime responsibility for public libraries was transferred to the municipal governments. Subsidies coming from the central government are only meant for stimulating expertise and policy development.
In order to continue the fixed book price system, a law was needed: the Fixed Book Price Act [Wet op de vaste boekenprijs, 2004]. An exception was made for school books, for which publishers are free to fix the price.