Do Authors Make Money From Library Books? And Why Are Some Books Not Available On Audio?

Last Updated on April 22, 2026

Libraries are having a bit of a rollercoaster moment right now, but I honestly think they’re more important than ever.

And yes, authors really do make money when you check out their books, though it works very differently in the UK and the US.

Let’s walk through what actually happens behind the scenes, why some titles never show up in audio, and how that cozy mystery you borrowed might be putting a little money in the author’s pocket!

Are Libraries in Decline or on the Rise?

If you look at the UK, physical visits to libraries have dropped sharply over the last decade, with one analysis showing visits in England down by around half between 2011/12 and 2021/22. (The most recent figures I could find!)

Funding has also been squeezed, with UK library spending per 1,000 people falling by about a fifth between 2018/19 and 2021/22.

At the same time, visits and borrowing have bounced back since pandemic closures, with book loans in Great Britain up more than 50% in 2021/22 compared with the previous year.

Digital use has grown too, as more people borrow ebooks and audiobooks alongside print.

So from where I’m sitting, libraries aren’t dying; they’re quietly reshaping themselves around how we actually read now.

Library Importance Cannot Be Understated

When I think about libraries, I don’t just see shelves of crime novels (though I always make a beeline for those); I see a free entry point into reading for almost everyone.

Data shows libraries supporting not just lending, but also IT access, literacy support, and events, which makes them a real community hub rather than just a book warehouse.

Even though in‑person visits dropped over the long term, demand for things like warm spaces, programs, and digital lending has risen.

For readers, that means you can experiment – try a new cozy mystery series, sample a debut, or binge a favorite author – without worrying about your book budget.

And for authors, all that quiet browsing and borrowing can still translate into income in the background.

How UK Authors Get Paid Per Library Loan

If you borrow a book in a UK public library, the author is usually entitled to a Public Lending Right (PLR) payment for each loan.

The PLR rate is set every year; for the 2024/25 scheme, the proposed payment is 12.40 pence per loan, up from 11.76 pence the year before.

There’s a cap, so no one can earn more than £6,600 per year from PLR, and there’s a small minimum payment to keep the admin sensible.

Around 20,000–22,000 writers and other contributors (including illustrators and audiobook narrators) share more than £6 million in PLR payments each year.

Importantly for modern reading habits, UK PLR now covers not just print, but also ebooks and e‑audiobooks borrowed through public libraries.

To make that concrete: if an author’s book is borrowed 10,000 times in UK libraries in a year at 12.40p per loan, that’s £1,240 in PLR on top of whatever they earned from selling copies to libraries.

It’s rarely life‑changing money, but for many writers, it’s a helpful, regular bit of income that rewards ongoing use of their work.

How US Authors Get Paid From Libraries

In the US, it works very differently, and this is where some readers are surprised.

The United States does not currently have a national Public Lending Right scheme, so authors do not get a separate royalty every time you borrow a library book.

Instead, the author is paid when the library buys or licenses the book, usually through their standard publisher royalty on print copies and on digital licenses for ebooks and audiobooks.

For print, a library might buy multiple copies of a popular mystery, and the author earns royalties from those sales, but nothing extra per checkout.

For ebooks and audiobooks, libraries often pay higher prices than consumers and work on time‑limited or checkout‑limited licenses.

Basically, that means after a certain number of borrows or a set period, the library has to renew the license.

When those licenses are renewed because the book is popular, the author earns new royalties, indirectly rewarding high circulation.

Some digital services, like Hoopla, use a cost‑per‑circ model where the library pays per borrow and the publisher then passes on a royalty share to the author.

So in the US, borrowing doesn’t trigger a direct “per loan” payout, but strong library demand can still drive repeat sales and renewed licenses that pay the author over time.

Most‑borrowed Authors for UK Library Books

The UK keeps a close eye on borrowing patterns, and the lists of most‑borrowed authors are fascinating if you love commercial fiction and children’s books.

Recent data from Public Lending Right and library‑loan charts show that children’s writers dominate overall, with Julia Donaldson consistently at or near the top and logging hundreds of thousands of loans in a year.

She’s often followed by Daisy Meadows, James Patterson, and other big‑name series authors whose huge backlists keep circulating.

Adult crime and thriller writers do very well too, with names like Lee Child and Ann Cleeves appearing high in rankings of most‑borrowed titles and authors.

​For cozy mystery fans, it’s interesting that authors with long‑running series and lots of ISBNs often shine in libraries, because backlist circulation really drives PLR earnings.
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In the US, there isn’t a single official, public “most borrowed authors in all US libraries” list, but we can get a good picture from nationwide round‑ups and Libby/OverDrive digital‑borrowing data.

The pattern that emerges is a cluster of big commercial names that dominate both print and digital checkouts across many different library systems.

So, if we look at individual systems (New York, Denver, Seattle, etc.) that release their own most‑borrowed lists, or National media round‑ups that compile patterns across several major libraries, we get a good picture of which authors are doing well.

That said, OverDrive, which runs the Libby app, does publish a yearly “Top Authors by Digital Checkouts” list, based on hundreds of millions of ebook and audiobook loans from public libraries.

For 2024, their top ten authors by digital checkouts were:

• James Patterson
• Sarah J. Maas
• Colleen Hoover
• David Baldacci
• Kristin Hannah
• Freida McFadden
• Rebecca Yarros
• John Grisham
• Nora Roberts
• Stephen King

New Ways to Borrow: ebooks and Audio

If you use a library app like Libby or BorrowBox, you’re part of a big shift in how people borrow library books.

In the UK, PLR has been extended to cover ebooks and e‑audiobooks, so authors are now compensated for these digital loans in the same way as for physical copies.

In both the UK and the US, libraries typically license digital titles through platforms like OverDrive, and those licenses can be more complex and expensive than buying a print book.

Some models are “one copy/one user,” just like a physical book; others allow multiple users at once, or charge the library a set amount per download.

From a reader’s point of view, the upside is obvious: instant access on your e‑reader or phone, adjustable fonts, and the ability to carry an entire to‑read pile in your pocket.

For authors, digital library lending can mean reaching new readers who might then buy later books in a series, while still earning either PLR (in the UK) or royalties from those digital licenses (in the US and elsewhere).

The Downsides: Wait Times and Missing Audiobooks

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. Those “one copy/one user” licenses are a big reason you sometimes see eye‑watering wait lists for popular new releases.

Libraries may have to decide between buying extra digital copies of today’s big titles or spreading the budget across more niche books, including smaller cozy mystery series.

Per‑download models like Hoopla can ease queues but can also limit how many borrows a library can afford each month.

Then there’s the mystery of the missing audiobook. If you’ve ever tried to find an audio edition through your library app and discovered it doesn’t exist, licensing is often the culprit.

Some audiobooks are sold under terms that simply don’t include library licensing, particularly when the audiobook has been funded or produced by a single platform.

Publishers sometimes embargo new audio releases for a period, meaning they can’t be licensed to libraries until after an exclusive window.

For readers who rely on audio – whether that’s for accessibility or just for company while doing chores – that lack of availability can be a real barrier.

How Audible Exclusives Shape What You See In Libraries

This is where Audible comes into the picture. Some audiobooks are marketed as “Audible exclusives,” and those digital versions generally can’t be purchased by libraries at all.

Library staff report that while you might sometimes find a physical CD version of an Audible‑produced title, the downloadable digital audio simply isn’t sold on the library market.

On top of that, Audible has been known to pay publishers to embargo certain audiobooks for around 90 days, keeping them exclusive to Audible during that early release window.

For cozy readers like us, that means a new mystery might pop up on Audible while your library app shows only the ebook, or nothing at all in audio.

It also means that library‑friendly audio platforms, and local libraries themselves, have to work around a chunk of the market being locked away behind exclusivity deals.

From an author’s side, exclusivity can sometimes mean higher royalties or promotional support, but it also narrows how and where readers can discover their work, especially if they’re used to leaning on libraries.

Does Borrowing Library Books Help Authors?

Bringing it back to that simple question: yes, borrowing can help authors, but how it works depends on where you are.

In the UK, every loan of a registered book – print, ebook, or e‑audio – adds a few pence to the author’s PLR earnings.

In the US, there’s no per‑loan payment, but libraries pay for the books and licenses they stock, and strong circulation can encourage more purchases and renewals that feed into royalties.

As a reader and a cozy mystery fan, I see libraries as one of the best ways to explore widely while still supporting the people who write the stories we love.

Every time you put a book on hold, request a title, or borrow a new series, you’re sending a tiny signal to the library that this author is worth stocking, and, in the UK at least, you’re also putting a little PLR change in their pocket.