The Australian Lending Right Schemes are important programs that ensure Australian creators and publishers receive compensation for the free use of their books in Australian public and educational lending libraries. The Schemes, managed by the Australian Government’s Office for the Arts, have two components, Educational Lending Right (ELR) for school, TAFE and university libraries, and Public Lending Right (PLR), for public libraries.
Education Services Australia (ESA) delivers the Great Aussie Book Count, for the ELR Scheme, which focuses on Australian school libraries. Each year, around 1,000 schools across a broad selection of primary, secondary, and F–12 government, Catholic and Independent schools from across all states and territories, are invited to participate.
Learn more about the Educational Lending Right scheme.We've collaborated with Australian Chilrden's Laureate Gabrielle Wang, to show how easy it is for your school library to participate. |
 | School ParticipationIf selected to participate, your school will be assisting to estimate how many books by Australian authors are held in libraries across Australian schools. It starts with a list of eligible book titles, which are then cross-referenced with the book counts from participating school libraries, and then it is extrapolated how many copies of that title there would be across all schools. |
 | ELR ResourcesHelp promote the Great Aussie Book Count, download resources today: |
 | Australian book creators and publishersThe ELR Scheme helps financially compensate Australian content creators, so they can continue to create more amazing books to help shape the minds of future generations. In 2022, $12.7 million was paid to 10,813 publishers and creators through the ELR Scheme. |
How can my school be involved in the survey?
Each year, a representative sample of schools is invited to participate in the ELR school library survey. Schools Australia-wide are approached from September to October to take part
in the survey. Survey is to be completed during the month of November.
How does the School Library Survey work?
The ELR survey software has been developed in collaboration with library software vendors and is designed to run in the school library automation system. The survey software counts the number
of copies of selected book titles held in the school library catalogue. The privacy and confidentiality of schools’ data and records are rigorously maintained. The final survey results provide an estimated 'score' for the number of copies of
each title held in all school libraries in Australia. These figures are passed on to the Office for the Arts, who calculate payments to book creators and publishers.
How much time will be required to complete the survey?
In most cases, initiating the process and returning the results should take less than ten minutes. The time the software takes to extract results varies, depending on your library
management system. For some schools the library system vendor will extract the bibliographic data, and all you do is provide a back-up file. Survey is to be completed during the month of November.
How will the privacy of my school data be protected?
The privacy and intellectual property rights of all schools will be rigorously maintained in the manipulation and storage of data. No individual libraries will be identified in
the final survey results. All school data held at Education Services Australia for the purposes of the survey is destroyed once the survey process has been completed.
Why was my school chosen to participate in this survey?
The ELR school library survey is a representative sample survey in which schools all over Australia may be considered for participation. Your school was randomly chosen in consultation
with your library system vendor to represent your type of school in your state and/or region. Selection was undertaken with the approval of relevant education authorities.
How will completing the survey benefit my school community?
By completing the survey, you are supporting the growth of Australian writing and publishing. Australian schools rely on up to date bibliographic resources produced in Australia.
Many Australian authors, illustrators, publishers, compilers and translators rely on ELR payments to continue creating new resources.
What is SCIS and how can I submit my titles for cataloguing?
SCIS is a central cataloguing agency that creates high quality, consistent catalogue records for school libraries. Access to the SCIS database means that cataloguing effort
is not duplicated across schools, improving efficiency and reducing costs. Using SCIS catalogue records also improves search and discovery in school library catalogues, making content discoverable for students and staff.
If you would like to submit your titles to SCIS for cataloguing, please contact [email protected].
For enquiries about ELR, please contact us at [email protected].
Encouraging the growth and development of Australian writing and publishing
Wurundjeri Country
Level 22, 180 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia
Wurundjeri Country
PO Box 177 Carlton South
Victoria 3053 Australia
Phone: +61 3 9207 9600
Email: [email protected]
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