LONDON.- The latest annual data released today by the Public Lending Right office shows which books and authors proved most popular with library borrowers during 2016-17.

For the eleventh consecutive year prolific US thriller writer James Patterson was the most borrowed author from UK libraries. He has held this title since 2006/07 and during that time his books have been borrowed over 22 million times.

James Patterson commented: “I’m delighted to be the most borrowed author in UK libraries for the eleventh year running and it’s great to know my stories are still so popular with the UK audience! I firmly believe that better readers become better thinkers and I think libraries are an integral part of any community as they are essential in helping to share and spread the joy of reading.”

During 2016-17 his books were loaned over 2 million times and his most popular title with library borrowers was Bullseye.

Top 10 most borrowed authors, 2016/17 (2015/16 position in brackets)

• James Patterson (1)
• Julia Donaldson (2)
• Daisy Meadows (3)
• Roald Dahl (9)
• Roderick Hunt (4)
• Francesca Simon (5)
• M C Beaton (6)
• Adam Blade (7)
• Nora Roberts (10)
• Jacqueline Wilson (8)

Children’s authors again feature strongly with four of the top five authors belonging to this category.

Top 10 most borrowed titles, 2016/17

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (hardback edition)
• Make Me by Lee Child (hardback edition)
• Night School by Lee Child
• Personal by Lee Child
• Make Me by Lee Child (paperback edition)
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (paperback edition)
• When the Music’s Over by Peter Robinson
• Cometh the Hour by Jeffrey Archer
• Bullseye by James Patterson
• The Last Mile by David Baldacci

Thrillers were extremely popular with book borrowers across the UK as confirmed above. The Girl on the Train by British author Paula Hawkins hit the top spot for the second year running. The hardback edition steamed in at number one with the paperback edition in sixth place.

PLR was established by Act of Parliament in 1979 and is run by the British Library from its site at Boston Spa, West Yorkshire. PLR gives authors the legal right to receive payment from government each time their books are loaned through the public library system. In February 2018 PLR distributed £6 million to 22,108 authors at a Rate Per Loan of 8.20p.

In order to receive payments authors must register for PLR. Writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, translators, narrators, producers, abridgers can apply via the UK PLR office.

An exciting and new change to PLR came into effect on 1 July 2018 when the PLR office started to collect remote ebook loans data. Any payments arising from the newly eligible loans will be made for the first time in February 2020.

Commenting on the changes Tom Holland, Chair of the PLR Advisory Committee, said: “It is excellent news that the Government is backing a PLR fit for the 21st century. This will be hugely to the benefit of authors, who are fully aware that printed books these days are not the only way of reaching their readers.”