According to Finnish YLE, there are now several libraries across Finland, where it is forbidden to enter with your shoes on. You must either remove your shoes, or put small plastic bags on your feet during your visit.
Local librarian Sylvia Jänis Veini in Rovaniemi is saying, that this new policy has been accepted "pretty well". Some have asked, why the library is shoe-free. The logic is, that the library is located in the same building as a school and a kindergarten. This way all the facilities are easier to keep clean.
On the other hand, in Joensuu there have been shoe-free libraries since 2018, and there have been more like it in the area since. At first there were problems, because people didn't understand, that they need to remove their shoes, or place plastic bags on their feet. Nowadays people in general respect the shoe-free rule.
Finland's Library Association's Executive Director Juha Manninen says, that the shoe-free libraries are often located in the same building as other attractions, like schools. There are no statistics about how common these shoe-free libraries really are in Finland.
Would you like to do some business in a shoe-free library?