For what? I hear you asking…
Public Lending Right, or PLR as it is better known, is the right for authors to receive payments for the loans of their books by the public libraries. In Ireland PLR stands for Public Lending Remuneration and is essentially the same scheme.
The PLR scheme for both the UK and Ireland is administered by the British Library and under the scheme payment is made from government funds to authors, editors, illustrators and other contributors whose books are borrowed from public libraries. Data is collected annually from a sample of public libraries in the UK and payments are then made on the basis of the loans. The Irish Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) system covers all libraries in the Republic of Ireland and operates in a similar way.
To qualify for PLR you should be named on the books title page or be entitled to a royalty payment from the publisher (you do not have to own the copyright). When two or more contributors are involved they must divide the PLR between them. This is done on the basis of percentage shares which they must agree before applying for registration.
Every contributor named on the title page of a book needs to be consulted when agreeing percentage shares and the agreed division should reflect contribution. Each eligible contributor may then submit a separate application.
It is not possible for us, your publisher, to apply on your behalf unless we have a ‘Power of Attorney’ in place, which we do not.
For more information we strongly suggest you follow the link HERE and make your application, the next period ends at the 30th June so get the application completed.
