The Authors Registry, the not-for-profit organization founded by the Authors Guild and others, has received $537,000 for distribution to U.S. authors from LIRA, an authors' rights organization in The Netherlands. The payment is for Public Lending Right, a right recognized in 19 countries worldwide, including much of Europe, although it does not exist in the US. It represents the right of authors to be paid for the free lending of their works by libraries. In this case, payment is for English language (untranslated) works by US authors loaned by libraries in The Netherlands.

Payment information is author-specific; no title information has been made available. The current payment covers the years 1997-2001. (Records of loans of English language books began in The Netherlands in 1997.) The Registry expects to receive subsequent payments from LIRA representing the period up to the present, and payments thereafter on a regular basis.

Since its founding in 1995, the Authors Registry has distributed more than $4.5 million to U.S. authors. Payment comes primarily from foreign rights organizations, most notably the Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society in London. For more information on the Authors Registry, please visit its website at www.authorsregistry.org

For more general information on Public Lending Right worldwide, consult www.plrinternational.com