Public Lending Right
A Public Lending Right (PLR) program, is a program intended to either compensate authors for the potential loss of sales from their works being available in public libraries, or as a governmental support of the arts, through support of works available in public libraries, such as books, music and artwork.
Twenty-eight countries have a PLR program, and others are considering adopting one. Canada, the United Kingdom, all the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand currently have PLR programs. There is ongoing debate in France about implementing one. There is also a move towards having a Europe-wide PLR program administered by the European Union.
The first PLR program was initiated in Denmark in 1941. However, it was not properly implemented until 1946 due to World War II. The idea spread slowly from country to country and many nations' PLR programs are quite recent developments.
Read more about Public Lending Right: National Variations, EU Directive
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