Notice of Fee Allocation for The Promotion of Local Publications and Reading Culture Programme (2026-2029)

The ‘Promotion of Local Publications and Reading Culture Programme’ (hereinafter referred to as the “The Programme”) aims to support local authors and publications and to encourage the development and utilization of electronic platforms by the local publishing sector, as well as promote a quality reading culture in Hong Kong.

The Programme involves enhancing the local book data database, providing digitized images of book cover, summaries/annotations and other such materials on locally published titles in the collection of the Hong Kong Public Libraries, and to link it to the online catalogue of the Hong Kong Public Libraries in order to display more comprehensive and detailed bibliographic information for the convenience of readers accessing library collections. The corresponding database and webpage were launched in April 2020, listing selected locally published titles. The Programme also provides promotional materials for local authors and publications, so that the library can promote meaningful reading recommendations, as well as supports the engagement of local authors to participate in library promotion events as part of enhancing the reading culture.

The Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society acts as the executive agency for the Programme. Through its collaboration with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, it is hoped that the publishing sector can deliver more of the bibliographic and promotional materials that will encourage members of the public to read more locally published books and enjoy a wider range of library services. So far, publishers participating in The Programme have provided over 87,000 bibliographic materials in the local book data database for readers’ reference.

The Programme will last for three years, from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2029, with funding from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Publishing organisations only need to provide bibliographic information for titles published in Hong Kong that are included in the collection of the Hong Kong Public Libraries, and every year during the period they can receive Programme Fee on a per title basis through the Programme.

According to the current distribution scheme, the fee amount/allocation will be divided into two tiers based on annual loan rate recorded by the Hong Kong Public Libraries.

Tier 1: for more frequently borrowed titles with annual loan tier record ranked 1st to 20,000th, HKD $240 per title per year.

Tier 2: for less frequently borrowed titles with annual loan tier record ranked 20,001st and after, HKD $70 per title per year.

For each title, the payment share between the publishing organisation and the author is 50:50.

In addition, under the Promotion Programme, locally published e‑books provided by participating publishers, once accepted by the Hong Kong Public Libraries, will be made available for a limited period through the Libraries’ Digital Resources Management Sub‑System. Each e‑book will have a minimum access term of one cycle (three months per cycle). The calculation of programme fee for e‑books authorized by publishers are determined on a quarterly basis. All e‑book titles are ranked in descending order according to usage data provided by the Hong Kong Public Libraries’ Digital Resources Management Sub‑System. Programme fees are then allocated across three tiers of popularity—Top, Middle, and Basic— valued at HK$2,500, HK$1,875, and HK$1,250 respectively. Royalties are divided equally between the publisher and the corresponding author, at a 50:50 ratio.

Participating publishers and authors will receive the allocations through the electronic distribution and payment system.

Publishing organisations that have not yet participated in the project are welcome to support The Programme to promote a quality reading culture in Hong Kong. For further details of The Programme, please visit www.hkrrls.org.hk, call 2516 6268, or email chriswong@hkrrls.org.hk for enquiries.

The Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society