Public Lending Rights 2025 – AOI responds
Public Lending Rights (PLR) was set up to compensate contributors to books for the potential loss of sales due to the book being available in public libraries. It is available to authors, illustrators and translators, and can be an important contribution to their income. AOI respond to changes in PLR for 2025.
Each year the rate of PLR per book loan is reviewed by the British Library who administer the scheme, and for the 2024/25 scheme year the rate has been set to 12.40 per loan. This is not an increase in funds available for PLR, but due to a fall in the number of loans of registered books over the past year, so the central PLR fund is not keeping pace with the growing number of books and creators in the scheme. AOI CEO, Rachel Hill, wrote to the British Library in October 2025 to state that funding should be increased and that the PLR scheme should be extended beyond statutory public libraries to include volunteer and school libraries also. See the full letter below.
Dear Sheila Bennett,
Thank you for inviting the Association of Illustrators (AOI) to comment on the proposed Public Lending Right (PLR) rate per loan for the 2024/25 scheme year. We are pleased that the rate is set to rise from 11.76 pence to 12.40 pence per loan, as announced on GOV.UK, a welcome change following last year’s reduction.
Many of our 2,100+ members, including freelance illustrators working across children’s books, young adult fiction, graphic novels, comics, and illustrated non-fiction, make vital contributions to UK publishing. PLR income forms an important part of illustrators’ earnings, often providing ongoing revenue from library loans long after a book’s initial publication or print run. We welcome this increase as recognition of the value that authors, illustrators, and other contributors bring to readers through library services.
It is encouraging to see an uplift this year, as illustrators typically earn very low incomes from their creative work. A survey by the European Illustrators Forum (EIF) found that illustrators in the UK earn an average of £16,408 per year, with many earning below the national minimum wage. In this context, PLR payments are a vital supplementary income stream that helps stabilise illustrators’ finances amid rising living costs.
However, we note that the proposed 0.64 pence increase is mainly due to a fall in the number of loans of registered books over the past year, rather than new investment in the PLR fund. While a higher per-loan rate is welcome, the fact that it results from fewer loans is concerning from both a cultural and earnings perspective. The central PLR fund is not keeping pace with the growing number of books and creators in the scheme. PLR was established to compensate creators for the free public use of their work in libraries, balancing public access with fair remuneration. If more books are borrowed or registered, the overall fund should increase accordingly so that creators are not penalised by a lower rate when library use rises.
We join others in the creative industries in urging the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to review and substantially increase the central PLR fund. This would ensure that when library loans return to higher levels (a positive outcome for readership and literacy) the rate per loan can be maintained or improved, rather than reduced.
We also welcome the inclusion of e-book and e-audiobook loans in recent years, which reflects evolving reading habits. Illustrators contribute significantly to these formats, from children’s e-books to digital graphic novels, and deserve fair compensation for digital loans as they do for physical ones. Additional funding is essential to prevent payments from being diluted as digital lending grows.
In addition, we support extending the PLR scheme beyond statutory public libraries. Many valuable library services fall outside this definition, including volunteer-run community libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries, yet they also enable widespread book and e-book lending. An illustrator’s work might be borrowed many times in these settings, but those loans do not currently count toward PLR. This omission undervalues creative contributors. We urge the government to explore ways to include all libraries where the public can borrow books, ensuring fair remuneration for all instances of use.
In conclusion, the AOI supports the proposed increase to 12.40 pence per loan and would answer the consultation’s main question by “strongly agreeing” with the proposal. We believe this rise will positively impact illustrators and other contributors by modestly increasing their payments for library use. We are optimistic that it signals recognition of creators’ vital role in the library ecosystem. However, we urge that this improvement be accompanied by a commitment to grow the PLR fund in real terms and expand the scheme’s reach, ensuring future adjustments reflect proactive support for creators rather than reactive responses to loan patterns. We also recommend continued dialogue with creator organisations on the PLR cap and library coverage to keep the scheme fair and forward-looking.
Thank you for considering our views on the PLR rate per loan for 2024/25. The Association of Illustrators remains dedicated to protecting and advancing illustrators’ rights, and we appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this consultation. We hope our perspective helps inform a decision that supports illustrators and all those who create the books enriching library collections. We would be happy to discuss these points further or provide additional evidence if helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Rachel Hill
CEO, Association of Illustrators (AOI)
Back to News Page