However, based on what I have been reading from various authors regarding the actual resulting numbers, it seems apparent the average author doesn't end up seeing much of the approximately half a million "pot to be shared." Sure it's a big pot, but it is shared broadly.
The Public Lending Right (PLR) Commission, which is celebrating 25 years distributes annual payments to Canadian authors for the presence of their books in Canadian public libraries.
PLR does a random sampling of libraries across Canada, and every time they find one of your titles, they issue you a small fee for it. The goal is to promote Canadian authored titles in Canadian libraries and compensate the authors for lost royalties.
The cheque I deposited was $144 -- it was based on one of my books being found in 3 out of 7 libraries sampled.
So far, this is the largest single royalty cheque I have received in 2012. It is certainly a delightful bonus.
As an author you need only register your title once for them to do an annual poll and issue a cheque. I believe this is the 4th or 5th year I have been enrolled in the program. It is an amazing Canadian program that benefits authors and readers.
A few handy links:
Check eligibility - Register
I should also note that in June 2011 consultant Paul Whitney submitted a report to the PLR Commission entitled "EBooks and Public Lending Right in Canada" (link is to a PDF of report) and the PLR Folks are beginning to collect eISBN numbers and assess how ebooks could be included for payments by the PLR Program.
Three cheers for the good folks at PLR Commission!
The PLR Registration is currently open.
Registration period: 15 February to 1 May 2012 (postmark as proof)
Registrations by e-mail are not accepted. You must fill out a registration form and mail it to the Public Lending Right Commission along with the required support material.
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