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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

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

APUC Limited · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 00:20.

Opportunity overview

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

Classification

  • CPV22112000 — Textbooks
  • CPV22113000 — Library books

Lots

  • Title by Title purchase and Collections£8m
  • Title by Title and Collections (Access on a Third Party Platform)£8m
  • Aggregated subscriptions packages£1.5m
  • E-Textbooks£8m
  • E-Books and E-Textbooks (Title by Title & Collections)£9m

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
LIB1024 AP
Status
active
Has Recurrence
Yes
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
goods
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Covered By

GPA

Bid Opening

Date
4 Feb 2026, 16:00

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Lot Details

Maximum Lots Bid Per Supplier
4
Maximum Lots Awarded Per Supplier
4

Recurrence

Description
April 2029

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Framework Agreement

Maximum Participants
30

Expected award period

Starts
4 Feb 2026, 16:00

Tender Period

Ends
4 Feb 2026, 16:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
1 Aug 2025, 00:00

Contract terms

Performance Terms
Submission of Management Information Following commencement of the Framework Agreement, the Contractor will provide a performance report to The Authority on a quarterly basis to include spend by institution under the Framework Agreement for the reporting period. Contractors must provide the information on a quarterly basis, within 10 working days following the start of each quarter. Data must be uploaded to the website: http://ucsp.ac.uk/ using the template provided (template shall be provided during the lead-in period). The supplied template is the only format permissible and should contain Contractor name, tender reference, total net spend by institution each month. If there has been no spend for the quarter, then this will still require you to log in and record a nil spend return.
Has Electronic Payment
Yes
Has Electronic Ordering
Yes
Electronic Invoicing Policy
allowed

Classification

Id
22113000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Library books

Submission terms

Languages

en

Bid Validity Period

Duration In Days
1,440

Submission Method

electronicSubmission

Selection criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Minimum
With reference to Q4B.5 of the SPD in the qualification questionnaire, bidders must confirm they can provide the following supporting evidence prior to award: Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance* = GBP 5 Million Product and Public Liability Insurance = GBP 5 Million Cyber Security Insurance or equivalent With reference to Q4B.6 of the SPD in the qualification questionnaire, bidders must confirm they can provide the following supporting evidence prior to award: To demonstrate and evidence suitable economic standing, successful Contractors will be required to provide 2 years audited accounts, or equivalent if awarded the Framework Agreement.

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
Title by Title purchase and Collections
Status
active
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
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.

Value

Amount
8,000,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
The Framework Agreement will commence on the 01.04.2026 for an initial period of 2 years and will expire on the 31.03.2028 The Authority reserves the right to extend the Framework Agreement for a further 2 x 12 month periods subject to satisfactory performance and continued requirements of the Authority's members and the members of SCURL

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Technical
Type
quality
Description
60
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
40

Contract period

Duration In Days
720

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed
Entry 2
Id
2
Title
Title by Title and Collections (Access on a Third Party Platform)
Status
active
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
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.

Value

Amount
8,000,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
The Framework Agreement will commence on the 01.04.2026 for an initial period of 2 years and will expire on the 31.03.2028 The Authority reserves the right to extend the Framework Agreement for a further 2 x 12 month periods subject to satisfactory performance and continued requirements of the Authority's members and the members of SCURL

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Technical
Type
quality
Description
60
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
40

Contract period

Duration In Days
720

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed
Entry 3
Id
3
Title
Aggregated subscriptions packages
Status
active
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
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.

Value

Amount
1,500,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
The Framework Agreement will commence on the 01.04.2026 for an initial period of 2 years and will expire on the 31.03.2028 The Authority reserves the right to extend the Framework Agreement for a further 2 x 12 month periods subject to satisfactory performance and continued requirements of the Authority's members and the members of SCURL

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Technical
Type
quality
Description
50
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
50

Contract period

Duration In Days
720

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed
Entry 4
Id
4
Title
E-Textbooks
Status
active
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
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.

Value

Amount
8,000,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
The Framework Agreement will commence on the 01.04.2026 for an initial period of 2 years and will expire on the 31.03.2028 The Authority reserves the right to extend the Framework Agreement for a further 2 x 12 month periods subject to satisfactory performance and continued requirements of the Authority's members and the members of SCURL

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Technical
Type
quality
Description
50
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
50

Contract period

Duration In Days
720

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed
Entry 5
Id
5
Title
E-Books and E-Textbooks (Title by Title & Collections)
Status
active
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
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.

Value

Amount
9,000,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
The Framework Agreement will commence on the 01.04.2026 for an initial period of 2 years and will expire on the 31.03.2028 The Authority reserves the right to extend the Framework Agreement for a further 2 x 12 month periods subject to satisfactory performance and continued requirements of the Authority's members and the members of SCURL

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Technical
Type
quality
Description
50
Criterion 2
Type
price
Description
50

Contract period

Duration In Days
720

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery Location

Description
Scotland

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKM
Entry 2
Region
UKM

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
22113000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Library books
Item 2
Id
2
Related Lot
2

Delivery Location

Description
Scotland

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKM

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
22113000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Library books
Item 3
Id
3
Related Lot
3

Delivery Location

Description
Scotland

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKM

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
22113000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Library books
Item 4
Id
4
Related Lot
4

Delivery Location

Description
Scotland

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Entry 2
Region
UKM

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
22113000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Library books
Entry 2
Id
22112000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Textbooks
Item 5
Id
5
Related Lot
5

Delivery Location

Description
Scotland

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKM
Entry 2
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
22113000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Library books

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-2420
Name
APUC Limited

Roles

buyer
centralPurchasingBody

Address

Region
UKM
Locality
Stirling
Postal Code
FK8 2DZ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Unit 27, Stirling Business Centre, Wellgreen

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
09
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Education

Identifier

Legal Name
APUC Limited

Contact

Name
Lorona Watts
Telephone
+44 1314428950
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-79746
Name
Stirling Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court Sheriff Court

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Stirling
Postal Code
FK8 1NH
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Sheriff Court House, Viewfield Place

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
Stirling Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court Sheriff Court

Contact

Telephone
+44 1786462191

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Stirling · UKM · FK8 2DZ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK
  • Delivery location · UKM

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-050477-2025-12-15T16:16:59Zcompiled ·