ALIA Online Storytime pilot distributes over $50,000

Since its launch at the beginning of 2021, the Australian Library and Information Association’s (ALIA) Online Storytime pilot has generated $54,875 to be distributed to publishers, authors and illustrators.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, the one-year pilot scheme trials a system in which publishers permit the use of their Australian picture books in return for a small annual payment from public library branches. It follows the popularity of online storytime sessions in 2020, for which special copyright arrangements were made by the Books Create Australia industry group.

Participating library branches are able to make videos of picture book readings for use on social media, with the videos able to stay up on sites for six months.

The first quarterly report of the pilot program shows that 115 participating library services made 298 recordings, which gathered more than 17,000 views on Facebook, YouTube and other platforms. In addition to paying the subscription fees, participating libraries purchased a total of 965 copies of the 205 books participating in the program, with one publisher selling more than 200 copies of their titles on the list.

For more information about the Online Storytime pilot program, click here.

Category: Local news