Official UK procurement notice
25041 Provision of Estock for Cambridgeshire County Council Library service
Authority: Cambridgeshire County Council (Local council)
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionCambridgeshire County Council is an upper tier Council in the East of England. The Authority's vision is to create a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire. It is responsible for the provision of a range of services including highways, adult and children's social care, transport and libraries. The Authority is inviting tenders for the provision of eLending services to support and enhance its public library offer.
The Authority is looking to procure the widest possible offer/access to Estock resources for the residents of the County in the most effective and efficient manner.
Bidders will be required to provide and deliver a high-quality digital lending solution that is accessible via both website and mobile application, compatible with iOS and Android devices, allowing for the lending, searching and management of eLending format specific to the Lot they are bidding for.
This opportunity is open to bidders with experience in digital content provision, delivering innovative, user-friendly and inclusive digital library services and public section service delivery to the residents of Cambridgeshire.
The contract opportunity is divided into four distinct Lots: eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, and eNewspapers.
The Authority reserves the right to add the following additional requirements to the Service under this Contract during the Contract Period to provide Large print and spoken word services in addition to the services described in these procurement documents, based on needs and future market routes available to the Council.
CPV: Audio-visual materials · Library books · Library services · Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · all with a published value (£770,000 together) · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1e-AudioAwardedRenewalPublished value£385,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #2eAudiobooksAwardedRenewalPublished value£239,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #3eMagazinesAwardedRenewalPublished value£73,000
Lot 3 involves supplying a wide selection of eMagazines, including a defined core list of required titles. Users must be able to access current and past issues via both web and app platforms. MARC records, LMS integration, and user-loan dashboard visibility are desirable additions.
Lot #4eNewspapersAwardedRenewalPublished value£73,000
Lot 4 covers the provision of a broad range of UK and international eNewspapers, alongside a required core list of titles. The service must enable user access to current and back issues across devices. As with magazines, LMS integration, MARC records, and full user verification features are desirable.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Price
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 28 Aug 2025, 14:50 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Oct 2026, 10:59 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 2 Mar 2026
- Authority reference
DN788742- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-081257- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-058f7dFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 19 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
28 Aug 2025 → 8 Oct 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published28 Aug 2025, 14:50 BST
- Market engagement395 days ago26 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
Bidders are asked to read the Premarket document and provide responses via the MS forms questionnaire.
All information can be found on the Authority's Etendering system ProContract see link: procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View ↗
- Next notice expected342 days ago18 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published321 days ago9 Dec 2025, 18:58 GMT
- Submission deadline280 days ago19 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by238 days ago2 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent222 days ago19 Mar 2026
- Standstill ends210 days ago30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts209 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published18 days ago8 Oct 2026, 10:59 BST
Notice history
10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 28 Aug 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published28 Aug 2025, 14:50 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published9 Dec 2025, 18:58 GMTUK4
- Published value updated to £660,0009 Dec 2025, 18:58 GMTwas £458,333
- Status changed to active9 Dec 2025, 18:58 GMT
- Procurement method changed9 Dec 2025, 18:58 GMT
- Deadline published: 19 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT9 Dec 2025, 18:58 GMT
- Contract award notice published19 Mar 2026, 16:41 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete19 Mar 2026, 16:41 GMT
- Contract signature expected31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published8 Oct 2026, 10:59 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-08: 1 release · 28 Aug 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 2 · eAudiobooks1 award | |||
| ULVERSCROFT LIMITEDSME1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030Extensions: 12 months · Options: The Authority reserves the right to add the following additional requirements to the Service under this Contract during the Contract Period to provide Large print and spoken word services in addition to the services described in these procurement documents, based on needs and future market routes available to the Council. | £660,000 | 19 Mar 2026standstill to 30 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
| Across several lots2 awards | |||
| OVERDRIVE GLOBAL LIMITED1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030Extensions: 12 months · Options: The Authority reserves the right to add the following additional requirements to the Service under this Contract during the Contract Period to provide Large print and spoken word services in addition to the services described in these procurement documents, based on needs and future market routes available to the Council. | £660,000 | 19 Mar 2026standstill to 30 Mar 2026 | Standstill |
| BOLINDA UK LTDSME1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030Extensions: 12 months · Options: The Authority reserves the right to add the following additional requirements to the Service under this Contract during the Contract Period to provide Large print and spoken word services in addition to the services described in these procurement documents, based on needs and future market routes available to the Council. | £660,000 | 19 Mar 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 2 · BOLINDA UK LTDSME
- Signed
- 1 Apr 2026
- Value
- £660,000
- Period
- 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 12 months extention available
3 agreed KPIs: Uptime · Spend provided · Price
- Uptime
- Spend provided
- Price
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · e-Audio | 2final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2 · eAudiobooks | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
| 3 · eMagazines | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
| 4 · eNewspapers | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
3 commercial parties on the notice- BOLINDA UK LTDAwarded supplier
- OverDrive Global Ltd.Awarded supplier
- Ulverscroft Limited (uLibrary)Awarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (7)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender