Swedish literature by many. The Swedish language is an official language in Finland, with approximately 5.6% of the population having it as their mother tongue. Hence Swedish language literature has a considerable following in Finland, with several well-known Swedish-speaking Finnish writers, such as Bo Carpelan, Christer Kihlman and Tove Jansson. Jansson, perhaps best known for her Moomin books for children, wrote novels and short stories for adults, including "Sommarboken", (1972, "The Summer Book"). A cultural body representing such literature is the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland, which describes itself as "a versatile and future-oriented cultural institution of Finland-Swedish literature, culture and
Society of Swedish Literature in Finland and Swedish culture in Finland were under threat from the Finnish side. Leading cultural figures endorsed the need for an organization to preserve and mediate the Swedish cultural heritage in Finland. At the same time they sought to strengthen the identity of the Swedish-speaking population, and its understanding of its own culture. Today SLS has over 1,100 members, with around 100 employees in Helsinki and Vaasa. The SLS archives are a rich source of knowledge about Swedish-speaking Finland, its history, traditions, literature, languages, everyday life and folk music. SLS documents contemporary society and accepts donations of cultural and historical material