The PLR program offers the following benefits for Canadians:
- BROAD NATIONAL SCOPE: with a relatively small budget of $9.9 million, the PLR makes annual payments to over 17 000 Canadian authors.
- DEMONSTRATES GOVERNMENT'S COMMITMENT to recognizing creators' role in our society and improving their economic status.
- EFFICIENT: the program is regarded as a model of efficiency by different governments, its administrative costs being very low.
- EFFICIENT: the program, with its low administrative costs, is regarded as a model of efficiency by other nations’ governments.
- CANADIAN READERS HAVE FREE ACCESS TO THEIR COUNTRY'S LITERATURE and know that its authors are being paid for this service through the PLR.
- POPULAR WITH AUTHORS from all regions and backgrounds, as it recognizes the contribution they are making through the public service of their books in libraries.
- SUCCESSFUL, in that it welcomes over 800 new authors and 5,000 new titles annually.
- CREATES HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR CREATION OF LITERATURE, as it has the important secondary effect of putting money directly into creators' pockets. This, is turn, encourages more literary production (manuscripts) – the raw material for the Canadian publishing, film and television industries. Authors are at the core of our knowledge economy.
- PROMOTES PARTNERSHIPS: the work of the Commission relies upon and favours partnerships with authors, publishers and librarians, many of whom serve as representatives of the Commission.
- IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL LINKS: Canada can be proud to be in the company of such countries as France, Germany, Australia and all of Scandinavia, in initiating such a program.
To learn more about how the Public Lending Right Commision works and about how you can register, please consult the PLR Brochure or visit their website at www.plr-dpp.ca.
