Educational Lending Right
Educational Lending Right (ELR) is an Australian cultural program administered by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA). ELR has two objectives:
- to make payments to Australian creators (authors, illustrators, translators, compilers and editors) and publishers on the basis that income is lost from the availability of their books in educational lending libraries; and
- to support the enrichment of Australian culture by encouraging the growth and development of Australian writing and publishing.
ELR complements the existing Public Lending Right (PLR) program for books held in public lending libraries.
The ELR school library survey
The ELR school library survey is undertaken by the SCIS Unit at Curriculum Corporation on behalf of DEWHA. SCIS is responsible for promotion and distribution of the survey to schools and collection of results. At the conclusion of each survey, Curriculum Corporation provides a detailed report covering the methodology, results and recommendations. A summary report for the most recent survey period is publicly available.
A list of the 
top 100 Australian books held in educational libraries based on the results of the ELR school library survey is produced each year.
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 need to meet specified criteria based on:
- school size,
- sector and location,
- library automation system used.
More than 600 schools Australia-wide are approached in October to take part in the survey. Schools selected to participate will receive a package of information from Curriculum Corporation at the start of term four.
How does the school library survey work?
The ELR survey software has been developed in collaboration with library system vendors and is designed to run in the school library 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.
Payments to Australian creators
The Australian Government payments to Australian creators are based on estimates of the number of copies of specific titles held in Australian educational libraries. These estimates are obtained from the results of annual surveys of the holdings of selected school, TAFE and university libraries. TAFE and university libraries are surveyed separately.
For more information about the ELR school library survey
Check the frequently asked questions or email the Educational Lending Right Project Officer, Curriculum Corporation.
For further information relating to the ELR scheme, visit the DEWHA website at http://www.arts.gov.au/literature/lending_rights.
ELR – Encouraging the growth of Australian writing and publishing
