Oakdale, Minn. – May 12, 2016 – bibliotheca is delighted to announce that it has plans to expand the Cloud Library product with the inclusion of pay-per-use pricing models, allowing customers to significantly extend their collection with no up-front cost and no risk.
At BookExpo America, bibliotheca will meet with key publishers to continue securing content for the model. Several great publishers are already on-board, including Blackstone Audio and Hachette Audio. Working diligently with eAudiobook partner Findaway, bibliotheca expects to offer a wide range of eAudiobooks and eBooks under the new pay-per-use model.
Unlike traditional ownership-driven digital models, where the content is paid for up-front in full and then loaned to patrons over time, pay-per-use has no up-front costs at all. Instead, libraries can offer an extended range of titles, and are only charged when a title is downloaded.
This new and exciting model represents the perfect way to compliment the up-front purchased collection, allowing libraries to offer a much more diverse collection of material with practically no risk.
"For the past 5 years we have offered libraries a huge collection of digital material from which to choose," explained Tom Mercer, director of digital products for bibliotheca. "However, many of the more niche titles are missed as the return on an up-front investment cannot be justified. This new pay-per-use model allows libraries to offer a practically unlimited collection of titles, knowing that they will only incur cost if it is ever loaned."
The pay-per-use model will sit alongside the up-front payment model within the Cloud Library, allowing libraries to mix and match how they wish to purchase content. For example, if a title purchased using the pay-per-use model gains popularity, it can then be purchased outright, allowing libraries to try and test stock at their will. Additionally, libraries are able to provide a monthly cap on their pay-per-use title stock to ensure that their collection budget is suitably managed.
This new model will be available to all Cloud Library customers later this year. Currently bibliotheca is establishing a pilot group of leading libraries to help test the new model.
For more information, the team can be reached via info-us@bibliotheca.com
About bibliotheca
bibliotheca is dedicated to the development of solutions that help sustain and grow libraries around the world. Their products are designed to provide a welcoming, intuitive and seamless environment for those that use the library – wherever they choose to use it - be that at home, on the move or within the library itself. The company has direct operational offices in all major continents, together with dedicated distributors who offer our solutions across a further 70 countries. Globally, bibliotheca has over 30,000 unique libraries as part of their family, with a deployed equipment range in excess of 10,000 individual self-service units, 6,000 security systems and over 650 automated materials handling (sorter) systems. In addition, their digital ‘Cloud Library' platform features content from over 1,000 publishers and is available through almost 3,000 libraries.
bibliotheca is financially backed by OEP Capital Advisors, L.P., an independent private equity firm that has managed approximately $11 billion of invested capital over its 15-year history. The firm is principally based in New York, Chicago and Frankfurt.
