Every year, authors are paid "Public Lending Right" - a fee based on how many times their books are borrowed from libraries. This year's statistics have just been released and 5 children's authors are in the top ten. They are Daisy Meadows, Jacqueline Wilson, Francesca Simon, Julia Donaldson and Mick Inkpen. Read the press release here. The most borrowed author overall in the last ten years is Jacqueline Wilson who commented: “The PLR data clearly shows that many children still love borrowing books. That’s why we need our excellent libraries, so that all children can have free access to a huge variety of books.”
The press release goes on to say: "The crucial role libraries play in encouraging children to read is also confirmed by the latest figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) which show that children’s borrowing from UK libraries has risen for the past seven years. 96.8 million children’s books were borrowed during 2010/11, up from 89.9 million in 2005/6. Children’s books now represent 35.9% of all books borrowed, up from 33.9% last year."
This is excellent timing for National Libraries Day which takes place tomorrow. Support it by visiting your local library and borrowing as many books as you can!
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