Not just books – how renting a sewing machine from the library can improve democracy

This culture of borrowing, Vänttinen explains, is rooted in deep-seated pragmatism that stretches back to Finland’s rural past, when people routinely shared farming machinery. “Today, many people in cities live in small homes, and they might need a sewing machine only once a year,” says Vänttinen. “So why buy one? People prefer not to spend their own money when they can access a sewing machine for free, funded through their taxes.”