The Committee on Culture, Tourism and Diaspora held a hearing in the Parliament on the draft law "On some additions and amendments to the law on books in the Republic of Albania".
It foresees, among other things, the regulation of electronic books, the promotion of reading by considering it a public interest, the non-alienation of municipal funds for books, harmonization with European practices, support for publishers, and others.
The publishers themselves, however, were criticized for their lack of clarity and vision. The lack of a registry of publishers and the obligation to provide copies to the national library were among the criticisms, as were the electronic copies.
"Delivering the e-book is like hanging the wolf's liver around its neck. We will not hand it over. The publisher sets the entire system in motion, the law does not recognize the publisher as a subject," said the head of the Publishers Association, Petrit Ymeri.
Another publisher raised his concerns with the National Library's approach to the book, while a third criticized school curricula.
"The name of the Italian Institute of Culture is greater than that of the National Library. Not even fascist Italy dared to place its offices above the National Library of Albania. And that space is given to the Albanian book, it has never happened in the world that the National Library would appeal for bananas to put its books in. The book VAT does not bring money to the state, but it has destroyed the Albanian book because you have destroyed it. Make as many laws as you want and you have destroyed it", said Bujar Hudhri, publisher.
"The school curriculum is lacking. The list of recommended literature is a mess, with books that children can read," said Arlinda Dudaj.
For DP MP Ina Zhupa, chairwoman of the parliamentary committee, there are several problems and the goal of the hearing is to address them.
"Many interest groups have mentioned the VAT on books to me, and the state, instead of giving, takes. On the other hand, as a parent, I see that the price of books is high when we are talking about 15, 20-25 thousand old lek for a book, when we know that 45% of the population is poor," said Zhupa, among other things.
An autonomous Book and Reading Center, with more budgets and decent offices, enforcement and punitive mechanisms, a dedicated directorate in the ministry for books, reading and libraries, more budgets and subsidies were brought as suggestions, even to the obligation to participate in fairs. The Ministry representative said that a number of problems have been addressed while the budget of the QKLL in 2026 has been doubled.
