The Situation in Canada and the United States

DISCUSSIONF PUBLIC LENDING RIGHT (PLR) is much further advanced in Canada than in the LJnited States. * Authors ’ and librarians ’ groups have issued resolutions and manifestoes on the subject, formal debates have been held, and the Canada Council is developing a “model ” for com-pensating authors based on holdings of their works by libraries. The Canada Council, a governmental corporation which adminis-ters grant programs for artists and authors, is not to be confused with other councils which have studied PLR and rendered reports relative to its implementation in Canada: the Canadian Book and Periodical Development Council, composed of representatives from the Canadian Library Association (CLA) and various Canadian writers, publishers and booksellers, is one such group. Another council is that of the CLA, whose statement on compensation for authors was subsequently modi-fied and adopted by the annual conference of the CLA in Halifax in 1976.’ Other groups actively studying PLR and its possible implementa-tion in Canada include (or have included) the Canadian Copyright Institute, the Ontario Library Association, the Canadian Politica