Consultation on the proposed rate per loan for the 2024 to 2025 Public Lending Right scheme year

The Public Lending Right (PLR) is a right for authors and other rights holders to receive payments from a central fund for the public lending of their books by libraries in the UK. The 2024 to 2025 PLR scheme year applies to the lending of physical books and audiobooks, e-books and e-audiobooks and the remote lending of e-books and e-audiobooks from public libraries.

Each year the British Library Board (which is responsible for administering the PLR Scheme) makes a recommendation to the Secretary of State of the rate per loan to be paid from the PLR fund to registered authors, illustrators and other contributors. The rate per loan is calculated on the basis of the size of the fund available and an estimate by the British Library of the total number of loans of their registered works, obtained from a sample of public libraries in the UK.

The British Library Board has proposed a rate per loan of 12.40 pence for payments in the 2024 to 2025 scheme year. This is an increase of 0.64 pence, from 11.76 pence (in 2023/24). This proposed increase primarily reflects a decrease in the number of registered and qualifying book loans over the previous PLR Scheme year. Other factors such as an increase in the funding allocated by the British Library for payments to authors also affect the rate per loan calculation.

This consultation invites views from authors and other interested parties on the proposed rate per loan for the 2024 to 2025 PLR scheme year.