Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) is the mechanism by which authors can receive payment for the loans of their books by public libraries. The first PLR scheme was introduced in Denmark in 1947, and since then many countries have followed suit, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
The European Union adopted a lending and rental right directive in 1992 which grants authors ‘The exclusive right to authorise or prohibit rental and lending’ of their works. The Directive allows Member States ‘derogate from the exclusive right … provided that at least authors obtain remuneration for such lending’.
Ireland transposed the provisions of the EU directive on public lending in the context of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000.
However, in 2003, the European Commission instigated legal proceedings against Ireland for failure to transpose correctly certain provisions of the EU rental and lending directive, specifically in regard to public lending.
The European Court of Justice found in the Commission’s favour in a decision delivered by that court in January 2007.
To comply with the Court’s decision, the Government introduced the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Act, 2007 , which became law in December 2007. The Act enables the Minister of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, on foot of his responsibilities in relation to library authorities, to make regulations to establish a ‘Public Lending Remuneration Scheme’ under which authors will be remunerated for the lending of their books by Irish public libraries ‘out of moneys voted by the Oireachtas’.
The Act also amended section 79 of the Local Government Act 2001 to provide a statutory basis for An Chomhairle Leabharlanna to administer a public lending remuneration scheme on behalf of the Minister.
During 2008 An Chomhairle established a PLR Office to set up and manage the Scheme. Following a briefing for county and city librarians in June 2008, each library authority nominated a staff member to liaise with An Chomhairle on PLR issues.
In October, the PLR Office provided a specification for the PLR loans module to the public library authorities and the Library Management System (LMS) suppliers. This module facilitates the provision by public library authorities of monthly loans data to the PLR Office, giving details of the number of times each book in their collections is issued during a specified period. The PLR Office worked with the Library Authorities and their LMS suppliers and the to install and test the PLR module.
An Chomhairle also worked closely with the Registrar of Public Lending Right in the UK, who is providing computer services to the PLR Office in Ireland.
The regulations to formally establish the scheme, and setting out the criteria for eligibility (S.I. No. 597 of 2008), were published in December 2008. Under the Regulations the Director of An Chomhairle is designated as Registrar of Public Lending Remuneration.
The collection of library loans data will begin in January 2009, and the PLR scheme will open for author registrations.
An Chomhairle would like to thank the public library authorities for their co-operation in the establishment and ongoing operation of the PLR scheme, and the Registrar of Public Lending Right in the United Kingdom for his advice and support.