The Library book loan payment scheme has been updated to benefit authors and illustrators.

• Scheme enables authors to earn up to £6,600 from loans of their books from libraries
• Payments to authors/illustrators/translators for library loans to be made fairer through use of improved data
• Estates of deceased authors will be able to receive payments for their work more easily

More authors and illustrators are set to benefit from improvements to the PLR Scheme that pays them when their books are loaned from public libraries in the UK.

The Public Lending Right (PLR) Scheme provides authors with an income of up to £6,600 a year from loans of their books from public libraries in the UK and pays out more than £6 million annually. The rate paid to authors for each loan is calculated by dividing the total money available by the estimated total annual number of loans in public libraries.

The PLR Scheme currently specifies that the number of loans is to be determined by means of a sample, with data from 30 councils used to assist payment calculations. These new changes will see the British Library move towards collecting comprehensive loans data from all library authorities in the UK to ensure creators are getting their fair share.

This means that the more of their books are loaned out by public libraries, the more income an author or illustrator will receive through the Scheme.