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E-Books, E-Book Collections and E-Textbooks - APUC

APUC Limited · Public body

In brief

APUC Limited was looking for suppliers for printing work. Bidding has closed and no award has been published yet.

It is a framework worth up to £34,500,000 excluding VAT: the most the buyer expects to spend across all suppliers, not one contract.

It is split into 5 lots, so a supplier can bid for part of the work.

Built from the notice's own fields. Always check the official notice before you bid.

What the notice says

The Authority is acting on behalf of the HE and FE institutions in Scotland and oversea campuses, Members of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) which includes amongst its members, the National Library of Scotland, the National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Scotland Excel and its members Please refer to Appendix E - List of Institutions for more detail. The Authority is seeking Contractors to supply a wide range of academic content in digital format and associated content and services from Aggregators and Publishers. The scope will include: E-Books E-Book Collections (Publishers packages) E-Textbooks Associated digital content

Lots

LotTradeValue
Title by Title purchase and Collections
What this lot covers

This exercise is being undertaken on behalf of the HE/FE Institutions in Scotland and the members of Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), including the National Library of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scotland Excel and its members. The Authority intends to appoint a maximum of 8 Contractors to supply Title-by-title purchasing of e-books via an aggregator platform for delivery via the aggregator’s own platform. Packages may be offered, such as DDA and EBA Programmes, and audiobooks. Contractors will offer perpetual access licences but may also offer alternatives (e.g. 365-day licences, including POA models) where perpetual licensing is not available. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Printing£8,000,000
Title by Title and Collections (Access on a Third Party Platform)
What this lot covers

This exercise is being undertaken on behalf of the HE/FE Institutions in Scotland and the members of Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), including the National Library of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scotland Excel and its members. The Authority intends to appoint a maximum of 8 Contractors to supply Title by Title and Collections, with access provided on a 3rd Party Platform) The lot will enable the purchase of content via an aggregator with the content provided on a third-party’s platform. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Printing£8,000,000
Aggregated subscriptions packages
What this lot covers

This exercise is being undertaken on behalf of the HE/FE Institutions in Scotland and the members of Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), including the National Library of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scotland Excel and its members. The Authority intends to appoint a maximum of 6 Contractors to provide Subscription e-book packages via an aggregator or a third-party platform. Packages may include wider digital content in addition to e-books. Package content is likely to be pre-defined in nature. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Printing£1,500,000
E-Textbooks
What this lot covers

This exercise is being undertaken on behalf of the HE/FE Institutions in Scotland and the members of Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), including the National Library of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scotland Excel and its members. The Authority intends to appoint a maximum of 5 Contractors to supply E- Textbook content via an aggregator and hosted on the aggregators or publisher’s platform Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Printing£8,000,000
E-Books and E-Textbooks (Title by Title & Collections)
What this lot covers

1. This exercise is being undertaken on behalf of the HE/FE Institutions in Scotland and the members of Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), including the National Library of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scotland Excel and its members. The Authority intends to appoint a maximum of 20 Contractors to supply E-Books and E-Textbooks (Title by Title & Collections) negotiated directly with the publisher and hosted on the publisher’s or an aggregator’s platform. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Printing£9,000,000

Timeline

  1. Contract notice · notice 083039-2025

About the buyer

APUC LimitedLast 12 months

Procurements

24

Awards

6

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From notice 083039-2025 on Find a Tender, first published 15 December 2025. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.