‘Jolly Postman’ agreement

The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), Australian Publishers Association (APA) and Australian Society of Authors (ASA) have endorsed an industry agreement, which enables libraries to photocopy the removable inserts of children’s activity picture books.

It’s dubbed the Jolly Postman agreement after the iconic 1986 book The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Parents will appreciate the difficulty of tracking down the tiny inserts at home and the problem is multiplied in a library setting.

This joint statement from the APA, ALIA and the ASA will remove doubt about whether libraries can continue lending the book after copying its removable parts, to avoid children being disappointed by missing pieces.

“The Australian Publishers Association (APA), the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) share a common goal for all children to be able to enjoy books and stories from the earliest years. Enjoyment of activity picture books relies on the inserts being available to every reader. To facilitate this, it is the policy of the APA and ASA that their members allow libraries to copy the inserts and replace them as needed during the borrowing life of the book, without the need for specific permission or additional payment to the copyright owner.’

This agreement follows on from an earlier agreement about the use of images of book covers by libraries to promote programs and collections.