---
title: "e-Books and e-Audio"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Kent County Council"
published: "2026-08-07"
---

# e-Books and e-Audio

Buyer: Kent County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f.json)

## Summary

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.

## Notice

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).

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075330-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 3 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £800,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Kent County Council |
| Locality | MAIDSTONE |
| Postcode area | Rochester |
| Postcode | ME14 1XQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent |
| ITL 3 | TLJ45 Mid Kent |
| Local authority | Maidstone |
| Electoral ward | Penenden Heath |
| Westminster constituency | Maidstone and Malling |
| Delivery location | TLJ4 Kent |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 3 |
| Supplier names | Bolinda Uk Ltd; Overdrive Global Limited; Ulverscroft Limited |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 22 - Printed matter and related products

### Codes

- 22113000 - Library books

## Release History

- 7 Aug 2026 at 14:05 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075330-2026

## Notice URLs

- https://www.kent.gov.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06df2f.json.