Irish Publishing News

Roderick Hunt was the most borrowed author and The Official Driver Theory Test was the most borrowed book in the country in 2009.

The figures come from data on the most borowed books and authors in Ireland in 2009 released today by the Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) scheme, which is administered by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna (The Library Council). The scheme is design to reward authors for lost sales through libraries.

In 2009 the PLR scheme paid out some €349,874.74 to 4,608 authors and five authors received the maximum payment of €3,000, and the rate-per-loan was 13.93 cents.

Darren Shan was the most popular Irish author of the year coming in at number 13 on the list of 100 top authors. Speaking about the news he said:

I was delighted when I heard I was the most borrowed Irish author in Irish public libraries in 2009’, said Limerick-based Mr Shan, ‘but I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for Ireland’s fabulous libraries. I’ve always been proud of how well my books have fared in Ireland, but no writer makes it to the top by themselves, and any success story of mine is also a success story for Ireland’s librarians and libraries. They’re a national treasure.

The data gives fascinating insight into what we read as an nation. For instance, despite being one of the top ten books borrowed (see the table below) Sebastian Barry was only just in the top 100 Authors borrowed.

Top Ten Books Borrowed in 2009