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e-Books and e-Audio

Kent County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

07 Aug 2026 at 14:05

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Kent County Council procured exclusive e-books and exclusive e-audiobooks for Kent Libraries, Archives and Registration within its Growth, Environment and Transport directorate. This is a digital library-content supply requirement, classified as library books (CPV 22113000), supporting the Council’s library service. Supplies are delivered for Kent, with the buying organisation based in Maidstone. Ordering is ad hoc, so the requirement concerns the ability to provide digital content when requested rather than a fixed delivery schedule. The procurement covers content supply to the Council’s library service and was structured as a single lot, although that lot is recorded as cancelled while three active awards were made for the requirement.

The procurement is complete and has resulted in three active awards. It used a limited procedure: a call-off contract through the ESPO Digital Library Content framework, awarded without prior publication of a competition notice. Evaluation was based on price. Three suppliers each received an award: Bolinda UK Ltd, linked to a contract valued at £170,000; Ulverscroft Limited, £70,000; and Overdrive Global Limited, £560,000. All values are in GBP and are stated separately. The three contracts were signed on 3 August 2026 and are active. The planned arrangement was an initial two-year term, with two optional one-year extensions at the Council’s discretion, subject to the initial contract value not being exceeded. Three bids were recorded for the lot.

This award demonstrates established demand from Kent County Council for exclusive digital library content supplied through a framework call-off. Suppliers well placed for a future requirement would need strong e-book and e-audiobook catalogues, rights to provide exclusive content, reliable digital distribution and the operational capacity to fulfil ad-hoc orders for a public library service. The three successful suppliers were recorded as SMEs, showing that the requirement can be served by specialist content providers as well as larger digital platforms. A competitive offer would need to demonstrate commercially attractive pricing, since price was the stated evaluation basis, alongside dependable access to content suitable for Kent’s library users and the administrative capability to work through the ESPO Digital Library Content framework.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

e-Books and e-Audio

Notice Description

Kent County Council (the Council) have awarded the contracts the provision of E-Books and E-Audio Content for Kent Libraries, Archives and Registration team within the Growth, Environment and Transport (GET) directorate.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The nature of the supplies of the contract include the following: - Exclusive E- books - Exclusive E audio books There is no commitment regarding spend, as ordering is undertaken on an ad-hoc basis.

Options: The initial contract term is 2-years. There are two optional 1-year extensions (2+1+1) that can be taken at the Council's discretion, and if the initial contract value has not been exceeded.

Procurement Information

This is a call-off contract via the ESPO Digital Library Content (376E1_24).

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075330-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

22 - Printed matter and related products

CPV Codes

22113000 - Library books

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£800,000 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
3 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Kent County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MAIDSTONE
Postcode
ME14 1XQ
Postcode Area
Rochester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ45 Mid Kent
Delivery Location
TLJ4 Kent
Local Authority
Maidstone
Electoral Ward
Penenden Heath
Westminster Constituency
Maidstone and Malling

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
3
Supplier Names

Bolinda Uk Ltd

Overdrive Global Limited

Ulverscroft Limited

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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