Supply and Delivery of Library Books and Textbooks
Framework Description
Supply and Delivery of Library Books and Textbooks is a Scotland Excel framework, made available to APUC member institutions, covering books for public libraries, schools and colleges. It is split into 19 lots: general categories such as adult, children's and large print books, plus lots for named educational publishers. Applications for this framework are closed (it is not a DPS), and it ends on 31 July 2028 with no extension.
Context & Use Case
Scottish councils buy through it for public library stock and school textbooks, and APUC members can use it for library and course books. Library services choose suppliers by category, from audiobooks to reference and foreign language titles, while schools can buy from publisher lots for textbooks from houses such as Hodder Gibson or Pearson Education.
Scope of Services
Adult and Children's Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Reference & Foreign Language Books; General Library Books AudioBooks; Large Print Books General Textbooks Publisher lots: Bright Red Publishing, Capstone Global Library, Harper Collins, Hodder Gibson, Jolly Learning Publisher lots: McGraw Hill, Nelson Thornes, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education Publisher lots: Prim-Ed Publishing, Rising Stars UK, P&N Publications
Lots
Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction Books; Children's Fiction and Non-Fiction Books; Reference & Foreign Language Books; General Library Books; AudioBooks; Large Print Books; General Textbooks; Bright Red Publishing; Capstone Global Library; Harper Collins; Hodder Gibson; Jolly Learning; McGraw Hill; Nelson Thornes; Oxford University Press; Pearson Education; Prim-Ed Publishing; Rising Stars UK; P&N Publications
Who Can Apply
Applications for this framework are closed, and new suppliers cannot join before 31 July 2028. Library suppliers, booksellers and educational publishers should prepare for Scotland Excel's re-tender ahead of that date. The publisher lots suit publishers or their distributors, while the category lots suit library suppliers.
Buyer Benefits
Library services want stock delivered reliably across many branches, with discounts agreed at national scale. Schools want textbooks from the publishers they already teach with. Having both under one Scotland Excel framework covers council library and education spend on a single set of terms.
Next Steps
Read the Scotland Excel notice on Public Contracts Scotland (NOV463938) to understand lot scope and evaluation. Appointed suppliers should respond to every call-off request and keep pricing current. Others should plan for a re-tender before 31 July 2028, choosing between category and publisher lots and gathering Scottish council or school library references.
How Athena Can Help
With 19 lots, choosing where to bid is half the work. Athena's bid/no-bid assessments test which category or publisher lots you can realistically win, and our framework re-tender preparation builds a plan towards Scotland Excel's 2028 tender, with policies, certificates and references ready.
For appointed suppliers, Athena's bid writing support sharpens call-off responses and pricing so you win a bigger share of council and college orders. We also check each submission for compliance before it goes in.
