You can contact the PLR office by post, telephone or email.

Public Lending Remuneration Office
Libraries Development
Local Government Management Agency
35-39 Ushers Quay
Dublin 8

Tel: (From Ireland): +353 1 6707077
Tel: (From UK and worldwide): +44 (0)1642 604699

Email address for the Irish PLR Office is info@plr.ie

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The main changes for authors are:

• Applications to register for the Irish PLR scheme should be directed to the Public Lending Right, UK.
• Authors applying to register for PLR can now register for both Irish and UK PLR schemes simultaneously using the dual application forms.  
• It is still possible to register only for Irish or UK PLR.

We are currently making arrangements to allow online registration for both UK and Irish PLR, and further information will be provided in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, you may download a form to apply for either or both schemes.

Authors who are already registered with the Irish PLR scheme need not contact the UK PLR office unless they have new books to register or have queries about existing registrations.

Eight children’s authors made it into the top ten ‘most-borrowed-from-the-library’ list for last year, with Roderick Hunt, author of over 300 titles in the Oxford Reading Tree series, the most popular for the third successive year with over 125,000 library loans.

Classic stories continue to delight today’s children with stars such as Enid Blyton, Roger Hargreaves and Roald Dahl in the top ten, alongside Daisy Meadows, Francesca Simon, and Jacqueline Wilson. Adam Blade, author of 60 books in the Beast Quest fantasy series, entered the top 10 for the first time.

Prolific US writer James Patterson is the most popular adult fiction author for the second successive year with almost 74,000 library loans. Another American favourite, Nora Roberts, who also writes as J.D. Robb, is the second most-borrowed general fiction author with over 54,000 loans.

Irish writers and illustrators, both children’s and adult, are attracting lots of Irish readers, with 15 featuring in the top 100.

Darren Shan, author of horror and fantasy books which have sold close to 15 million copies worldwide, is the most popular Irish author for the third year running.

Joseph O’Connor’s Ghost Light, Dublin City’s ‘One City One Book’ for 2011, was the nation’s most borrowed book last year.

Reacting to the news, Mr O’Connor said:

‘I’m deeply honoured that Ghost Light is the most borrowed book of 2011, and I offer a heartfelt thanks to my readers for making it so. All my life since childhood I have been a lover of our libraries. My novels have been researched in them, and I have many times been the beneficiary of the exceptional professionalism and helpfulness of our librarians. Now more than ever, I am proud to support the libraries and the wonderful work they do for their communities up and down the land.’

Fiction continues to dominate and works by Irish authors are very popular, with 34 making it into the top 100. Room, the international bestseller and award-winning novel by Emma Donoghue is the second most borrowed fiction book by an Irish author.

The lists are compiled by The Library Council from information supplied to the Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) Scheme by all public libraries in Ireland.

10,229 authors resident in thirty-six countries were registered for Irish PLR in 2011. €179,047.46 was paid out to 4,047 authors in respect of their total library loans. Twelve authors received the maximum payment of €1,000, and the rate-per-loan was 5.21 cent.

Commenting on the third year of PLR, Mark Dearey, Chairman of The Library Council, thanked the country’s librarians for their co-operation in the scheme. ‘Irish public libraries are becoming even more popular each year as the 17 miilion visits and 15 million books borrowed show. Public library staff around the country should be very proud of the service they provide’.

PLR is funded by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

• Brendan Teeling, Assistant Director, An Chomhairle Leabarlanna, Tel: 087 6184734; 01 6761167; email: bteeling@librarycouncil.ie.
• Eva McEneaney, Executive Librarian, PLR Office, An Chomhairle Leabarlanna: Tel: 01 6761167; email: emceneaney@librarycouncil.ie.  

Notes for Editors

There are over 17 million visits to Irish public libraries each year, resulting in over 15 million loans of books.

Under the Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) scheme, payment is made to authors, illustrators, etc. whose books are borrowed from the country’s 350 public libraries.

PLR is managed by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna (the Library Council) and funded by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Most Borrowed Authors and Titles 2011

1. Most Borrowed Titles 2011 (Adult and Children Combined)

2. Most Borrowed Adult Fiction Titles 2011

 3. Most Borrowed Children’s Fiction Titles 2011

 4. Most Borrowed Fiction by Irish Authors 2011 (Adult and Children Combined)

 5. Most Borrowed Non-Fiction Titles 2011

 6. Most Borrowed Authors 2011 (Adult and Children Combined)

 7. Most Borrowed Authors 2011 (Adult Fiction)

 8. Most Borrowed Children’s Authors 2011

 9. Most Borrowed Irish Authors 2011 (Adult and Children Combined)

 Detailed lists of the most Borrowed Authors and Titles 2011 can be accessed on the PLR website at www.plr.ie

The PLR Registrar is satisfied for the information in this release to be made widely accessible, provided that PLR’s role in compiling the information is acknowledged.

The most borrowed lists of titles and authors are based on all the books loaned by public libraries, so that includes authors who are registered with PLR as well as others who are not registered or who are not eligible to register.

The PLR Registrar is satisfied for the information in this release to be made widely accessible, provided that PLR’s role in compiling the information is acknowledged.

Young Readers Rule When it Comes to Library Lending

Most Borrowed Titles in 2011

For further information please contact the PLR Office

The PLR Registrar is satisfied for the information in this release to be made widely accessible, provided that PLR’s role in compiling the information is acknowledged.

The most borrowed lists of titles and authors are based on all the books loaned by public libraries, so that includes authors who are registered with PLR as well as others who are not registered or who are not eligible to register.

Young Readers Rule when it comes to Library Lending

Most Borrowed Authors 2011

For further information please contact the PLR Office 

The PLR Registrar is satisfied for the information in this release to be made widely accessible, provided that PLR’s role in compiling the information is acknowledged.

They are Daisy Meadows, the brand behind the “Rainbow Magic” series (2nd);  Jacqueline Wilson (4th);  Francesca Simon, author of the “Horrid Henry” series (5th); Children’s Laureate, Julia Donaldson (7th); and Mick Inkpen (9th).

Dame Jacqueline Wilson is also the UK’s most borrowed author of the last ten years with over 16.5 million loans over the past decade.

With over 2 million loans, prolific American writer James Patterson is the UK’s Most Borrowed Author for the fifth year running, the PLR data also shows.

 ‘Timmy Time Touch and Feel’ is the most borrowed title in Northern Ireland.

We can also accept changes of address over the telephone subject to verification being provided. 

Please note that for security reasons, we are unable to accept changes to address via e-mail.

If you wish to submit your Euro account details please see the Payments to authors with Euro Accounts page.

If you wish to submit your UK Sterling account details please see the Payments to author with UK Sterling Accounts page.