Book-borrowing from libraries 'costs publishers up to HK$105m a year in potential sales'

Book-borrowing from libraries costs the publishing industry up to HK$105 million a year in potential sales, according to a group lobbying for royalties to be paid on borrowed books.

The claim by the Hong Kong Public Lending Right Alliance follows a survey in which up to 65 per cent of public library users said they would not buy books if they could be borrowed from libraries.

The alliance, supported by almost 450 local authors, is seeking a public lending law under which royalties of up to HK$8 would be paid for each borrowing.

"The government said the lending services could promote the books among readers and have a positive impact on the selling of books," alliance chairman Derek Lee Wai-wing said yesterday. "But the findings have proven that the public library services have satisfied the need of most readers and lowered their appetite for buying books."

In the survey, commissioned by the alliance, about 20 per cent of respondents said they would buy a book after borrowing it because they liked it and of these just 1.7 per cent said they would do so frequently.

Authors' public lending rights have been recognised in at least 41 countries. If the local authors succeed in their campaign, Hong Kong will become the first region in Asia to adopt such a system.