Public Lending Remuneration

The final date for receipt of new PLR registration forms for the Irish PLR year 2010 is Tuesday August 31st, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.

If you are already registered for Irish PLR, please note that the final date for receipt of additional book forms for the Irish PLR year 2010 is Tuesday August 31st, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.

Books registered after that date will be included for PLR year 2011.

The ‘most borrowed statistics’ are compiled by the PLR Office from data provided by library services around the country. The Top 10 National List of Most Borrowed Titles and Authors below is compiled using the Top 100 titles from each of the public library authorities. The data below are from May 2010.

Most Borrowed Titles in May 2010

1.   Official Driver Theory Test – Prometric Ireland Ltd
2.   The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown
3.   The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
4.   Brooklyn – Colm Toibín
5.   Under the hawthorn tree – Marita Conlon McKenna
6.   The girl with the dragon tattoo – Stieg Larsson
7.   Horrid Henry’s stinkbomb – Francesca Simon
8.   The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest – Stieg Larsson
9.    The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
10.  Let the great world spin – Colum McCann

In May 2010, the ‘Official Driver Theory Test’ usurped ‘The picture of Dorian Gray’ to reclaim its   placing at No. 1 on our Top 10 List.

The depth in quality of Irish writing at present is reflected by the presence of Colm Toibín, Marita Conlon-McKenna, John Boyne and Colum McCann with Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol remaining extremely popular with its position at No. 2.   

Most Borrowed Authors in May 2010

1.   Francesca Simon
2.   Jacqueline Wilson
3.   Daisy Meadows
4.   James Patterson
5.   Roger Hargreaves
6.   Stieg Larsson
7.   Marita Conlon-McKenna
8.   Roald Dahl
9.   Jeff Kinney
10. Dav Pilkey

There are few enough changes to our Top 10 List of most borrowed authors with Francesca Simon, Jacqueline Wilson and Daisy Meadows enjoying the Top 3 spots.

However, a new and welcome addition to our Top 10 is American author Jeff Kinney, who created the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series and his new found popularity in Irish Public Libraries is manifested in his No. 9 position.

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 statistics’ are compiled by the PLR Office from data provided by library services around the country. The Top 10 National List of Most Borrowed Titles and Authors below is compiled using the Top 100 titles from each of the public library authorities. The data below are from April 2010.

Most Borrowed Titles in April 2010

1.   The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
2.   Official Driver Theory Test – Prometric Ireland Ltd
3.   The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown
4.   Brooklyn – Colm Toibín
5.   Horrid Henry’s stinkbomb – Francesca Simon
6.   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
7.   Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter – Francesca Simon
8.   Horrid Henry and the mega-mean time machine – Francesca Simon
9.   Let the great world spin – Colum McCann
10. The girl with the dragon tattoo – Stieg Larsson

The influence of Dublin City Library’s ‘Dublin: One City, One Book’ initiative is reflected in their 2010 selection of Oscar Wilde’s classic ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ placed in the No. 1 spot.   

Two heavyweights of the contemporary Irish writing scene also feature prominently on our list with the coincidence of both Colm Toibín’s ‘Brooklyn’ and Colum McCann’s ‘Let the great world spin’ set in New York.    

Most Borrowed Authors in April 2010

1.   Francesca Simon
2.   Jacqueline Wilson
3.   Roald Dahl
4.   James Patterson
5.   Roger Hargreaves
6.   J.K. Rowling
7.   Oscar Wide
8.   Stieg Larsson
9.   Marita Conlon-McKenna
10. Daisy Meadows

Children’s authors dominate the list of most borrowed authors for April 2010 with interest in Francesca Simon’s ‘Horrid Henry’ showing few signs of waning, as Francesca Simon claims the No. 1 spot once again.

Old favourites such as Roald Dahl, Roger Hargreaves and J.K. Rowling are joined by Irish author Marita Conlon-McKenna, author of the ‘Children of the Famine Trilogy’, with ‘Under the hawthorn tree’ her most appealing and successful creation to date.

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 statistics’ are compiled by the PLR Office from data provided by library services around the country. The Top 10 National List of Most Borrowed Titles and Authors below is compiled using the Top 100 titles from each of the public library authorities.   The data below is from March 2010. 

Library Ireland Week 2010 took place from 8 – 13 March this year and was a great success with over 300 events taking place around the country.

Most Borrowed Titles in March 2010

1. Official Driver Theory Test – Prometric Ireland Ltd
2.  The picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
3. Brooklyn – Colm Toibín
4. The lost symbol – Dan Brown
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
6. My sister Jodie – Jacqueline Wilson
7. Horrid Henry’s stinkbomb – Francesca Simon
8. Horrid Henry and the bogey babysitter – Francesca Simon
9. Horrid Henry and the mega-mean time machine – Francesca Simon
10. The return journey – Maeve Binchy

The March top ten titles list finds ‘Colm Toibín’ one of Ireland’s most celebrated writers at No. 3 on the list with his Costa Award winning novel ‘Brooklyn’.

March highlights once more how popular ‘Horrid Henry’ is with all our avid young Irish readers with three of Francesca Simon’s titles featuring at No.’s 7, 8 and 9 respectively.
  
The enduring appeal of Maeve Binchy continues unabated and her wonderful sense of humour pervades throughout her novels.  

Most Borrowed Authors in March 2010

1. Francesca Simon
2. Jacqueline Wilson
3. Daisy Meadows
4. J.K. Rowling
5. Roger Hargreaves
6. James Patterson
7. Roald Dahl
8. Judi Curtin
9. Stieg Larsson
10. Dav Pilkey

The top authors list for March contains all the usual luminaries especially the children’s favourites.

James Patterson continues his dominance as the most borrowed adult author in March.

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 statistics’ are compiled by the PLR Office from data provided by library services around the country. The Top 10 National List of Most Borrowed Titles and Authors below is compiled using the Top 100 titles from each of the public library authorities. The data below are from February 2010.

Most Borrowed Titles in February  2010

1. Official Driver Theory Test – Prometric Ireland Ltd
2. Brooklyn – Colm Toibín
3. The lost symbol -  Dan Brown
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
5. Happy ever after – Patricia Scanlan
6. Horrid Henry gets rich quick – Francesca Simon
7. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
8. Horrid Henry’s stinkbomb – Francesca Simon
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
10. Horrid Henry and the football fiend – Francesca Simon

The Official Driver Theory Test continues its dominance as our nation’s most borrowed item. 

Most Borrowed Authors in February 2010

1. Francesca Simon
2. Jacqueline Wilson
3. Daisy Meadows
4. J.K. Rowling
5. Roald Dahl
6. Roger Hargreaves
7. Marita Conlon-McKenna
8. James Patterson
9. Patricia Scanlan
10. Stieg Larsson

Francesca Simon continues her domination of our Top 10 Most Borrowed authors list.

Irish author Marita Conlon-McKenna, author of the ‘Children of the Famine Trilogy’ makes her first appearance at No. 7 in the Top 10 list.

A welcome inclusion to the list at No. 10 is Stieg Larsson, (1954-2004). He was a Swedish writer and journalist and prior to his sudden death in November 2004 he finished three detective novels in his trilogy ‘The Millenium-series’ which were published posthumously; ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’,  ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ and ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’.

Altogether, his trilogy has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 countries (spring of 2010), and he was the second bestselling author in the world in 2008.

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.

Horrid Henry is the most popular child in Ireland with the Official Driver Theory Test in pole position

Irish children are great readers and very influential users of public libraries. They have ensured that children’s authors from Ireland, Great Britain and the Unites States dominated the most-borrowed books in Ireland’s 352 public libraries.

Roderick Hunt, author of over 300 titles in the Oxford Reading Tree series is Irish children’s top choice, narrowly beating the creator of Horrid Henry, Francesca Simon. Children enjoyed Horrid Henry’s antics and borrowed the range of titles 98,000 times in 2009.

Reacting to her popularity in Ireland,  Ms Simon declared her inside knowledge:

‘I’m delighted that Horrid Henry is such a popular boy in Irish libraries as I spent all of my lunchtimes volunteering in my school library and most of my afternoons in my local one.’

The team behind Daisy Meadows’ Rainbow Magic featured as the 3rd most-borrowed authors. Ever-popular authors Enid Blyton, Roger Hargreaves, and Roald Dahl all ranked in the top ten.

‘America’s favourite novelist’,  Nora Roberts, who also writes as J.D. Robb, was the most-borrowed general fiction author at number 7, followed by fellow-American James Patterson at number 8, and Lee Child, author of the Reacher books, at number 10.

Darren Shan claims the prize of the most popular Irish author in 2009, at number 13. Darren, whose tales of vampires and demons have sold 15 million copies worldwide was thrilled to learn of his high rating:

‘I was delighted when I heard I was the most borrowed Irish author in Irish public libraries in 2009’, said Limerick-based Mr Shan, ‘but I know that I wouldn’t  be where I am today if not for Ireland’s fabulous libraries. I’ve always been proud of how well my books have fared in Ireland, but no writer makes it to the top by themselves, and any success story of mine is also a success story for Ireland’s librarians and libraries. They’re a national treasure.’

Irish authors, both children’s and adult, are attracting lots of  Irish readers, with 17 featuring in the top 100.When it comes to the most-borrowed books, 6 Irish books are in the top ten. The top spot is taken by the Official Driver Theory Test. John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was edged into second position by Ireland’s fledgling car users. Published in 2006, Boyne’s searing story continues to enthral. A successful film based on the book was released in 2008. Reacting to the news, Mr Boyne enthused about library readers’ vote of confidence:

‘I spent a huge part of my childhood in libraries. I discovered my love of books there. I started writing there. So to hear that one of my novels is so popular among library-goers today makes me very proud and grateful to Irish readers.’

Fiction dominates both the author and title list. The strength of Irish fiction in the list endorses the popularity of Sebastian Barry’s The Secret Scripture, at number 3, This Charming Man by Marian Keyes at number 4, Maeve Binchy’s Heart and Soul at number 7 and Cathy Kelly’s Lessons in Heartbreak at number 10.

Irish authors claim 22 of the top 100 most popular books.

The public’s appetite for fantasy shows no sign of waning, with Stephenie Meyers’s Twilight at number 6, and the penultimate Harry Potter title, Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince taking 8th slot. Neither of these books is new and librarians noticed the interest in borrowing since films based on both titles were released.

The most-borrowed non-fiction book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, is at number 68.

The Library Council has compiled the list from information supplied to the recently established Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) Scheme. 9,657 authors resident in 31 countries registered their interest in the Irish PLR last year. €349,874.74 was paid out to 4,608 authors in recognition of their total library loans. Five authors received the maximum payment of €3,000, and the rate-per-loan was 13.93 cents.

Commenting on the first year of PLR, Senator Mark Dearey, Chairman of The Library Council, stated that the Council was delighted to initiate the scheme of the PLR payments to authors, thanks to funding provided by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government:

‘PLR is both a support to authors and a public acknowledgement of the value of their work. We are pleased that so many authors received a payment, however small’. Senator Dearey thanked mangers and staff in public library services around the country for their co-operation with the Scheme, and congratulated The Library Council staff on delivering the PLR Scheme on time and within budget.’

Information about PLR is available at www.plr.ie.

For further information please contact:

Brendan Teeling, Assistant Director, Library Council: Tel: 087 6184734; 01  6761167; email: bteeling@librarycouncil.ie.

Eva McEneaney, Executive Librarian  PLR Office, Library Council:  Tel: 01 – 6761167/6761963.
(email: emceneaney@librarycouncil.ie.

Notes for Editors

Under the Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) scheme, payment is made to authors, illustrators, etc. whose books are borrowed from one of the country’s 352 public libraries.

PLR is managed by the Library Council and funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

There are over 14 million visits to Irish public libraries each year, resulting in 14 million loans of books.

Most Borrowed Authors and Titles 2009

Most Borrowed Authors 2009 (Adult and Children Combined)

Most Borrowed Adult Authors 2009

Most Borrowed Children’s Authors 2009

Most Borrowed Irish Authors 2009 (Adult and Children Combined)

Most Borrowed Titles 2009 (Adult and Children Combined)

Most Borrowed Adult Fiction 2009

Most Borrowed Children’s Fiction 2009

Most Borrowed Fiction by Irish Authors 2009 (Adult and Children Combined)

Most Borrowed Non-Fiction 2009

Details of the 100 most borrowed authors for PLR Year 2009 can be found here.

(These lists include authors who are registered with PLR as well as others who are ineligible for remuneration under the PLR Scheme.)

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.

Details of the 100 most borrowed authors for PLR Year 2009 can be found here.

(These lists include authors who are registered with PLR as well as others who are ineligible for remuneration under the PLR Scheme.) 

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.