Educational Lending Rights

Join this members only webinar for a short presentation by Kristen Gidney (Office for the Arts) with a Q&A.

The Link to this webinar will be shared to VATL members via the mailing list.

The Australian Government’s Public Lending Right (PLR) and Educational Lending Right (ELR) schemes ensure that Australian authors, illustrators and publishers are compensated for the free use of their books in Australian public and educational lending libraries.

A critical step in delivering the schemes is the annual survey of Australian books (print, ebooks and audiobooks) held in public and educational libraries across the country. ELR specifically surveys school, university and TAFE libraries.

This survey of books held in Australian libraries provides an estimated number of copies of each eligible book, forming the basis of payments made to Australian authors, illustrators and publishers. Over $28 million of payments were made for PLR and ELR in 2024-25.

Libraries benefit from the schemes as they support the creation and publication of Australian books which help shape the minds of future generations and reflect Australian culture and identity. Lending Rights payments give authors, illustrators and publishers precious time to create quality Australian content. Australian authors and publishers love libraries for many reasons – a big one being Lending Rights.

Through contributing to the success of teaching and learning, campus life and employability skills, TAFE libraries and librarians are a prime example of how to inspire a lifelong love of reading and learning and can act as a bridge for students between school and public libraries.

Victorian TAFE libraries play a vital part in the Educational Lending Right (ELR) survey, as they carry specific collection material that reflect specific course content, which may not be held elsewhere – your library collection really does count. Find out more about Lending Rights, and about how your library can participate.