The Palace Project is a library-aligned digital content platform that provides seamless access to more of the library’s digital collections. A critical part of our mission is the work we do with publishers to provide libraries with multiple, flexible licensing options that respect the needs of both rights holders and institutions.

We support and have seen firsthand countless win-win opportunities for publishers and libraries through flexible licensing terms. At the core, they’re both working toward the same goal: delivering books to patrons. With a vast array of media competing for people’s attention, players across the book landscape must work together to ensure libraries can provide greater access to content with fair and sustainable terms.

Since our launch in 2017 (fka the DPLA Exchange), our primary goal has been to deliver digital content under terms that work for everyone. We started with a marketplace of around 100,000 titles. Today, we offer over 2 million. One of our first unique offerings was the 40-lend model (available to up to 10 users at a time). When first launched in 2019 with Workman and Abrams Press, it was groundbreaking. Today, it remains one of our most recommended models, available on over 300,000 titles across hundreds of imprints.

As Palace has grown, we have continued to listen to our library partners. A frequent request has been the need to truly own, rather than just license, digital titles. That’s where the Palace Ownership Model was born, which gives libraries the right to transfer books to a new distribution partner, self-host files, share with other libraries, update file formats, and save preservation copies. The Palace Ownership Model is now available on over 188,000 titles. You can read more about it here and review the legal details here.

Offer Models We Recommend

We continuously encourage publishers to expand their offerings for libraries to include models or combinations that offer a perpetual option alongside lend bundles. Here are our recommended models and why we advocate for them:

  • The Digital Ownership Model (unique to Palace; 190,000+ titles as of mid-2026): Our “gold standard.” It treats an ebook like a physical book, thereby imparting first-sale rights to the library.
    • Long-Term Preservation: Libraries can migrate files as technology evolves or place a copy in a dark archive such as LOCKSS or Portico.
    • Portability: Libraries can host files in the Palace Marketplace, move them to another secure platform, or take direct possession of the files.
    • Sharing: Allows for Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and the transfer of titles between libraries.
    • Lending: One-reader-at-a-time, stored in a safe digital environment with DRM.
  • Perpetual Access, One-User-at-a-Time (OCOU) (820,000+ titles): For publishers not yet comfortable with the Digital Ownership Model, OCOU remains the cornerstone of long-term digital collection building.
  • 100 Simultaneous Lends (229,000+ titles): The “queue killer.” Perfect for large urban libraries or consortia looking to promote high-demand titles without building massive holds lists or acquiring permanent copies that will sit unused once popularity fades.
  • 40-Lend, Up to 10 Simultaneous Users (unique to Palace; 200,000+ titles): Designed to mimic the lifespan of a physical book but with added flexibility. This modestly priced model lets libraries reduce holds and re-evaluate a title’s popularity after 40 lends. Includes titles from Amazon Publishing and Audible.
  • 5 Simultaneous Lends (unique to Palace; 200,000+ titles): A low-risk, low-cost way to test “hidden gems” or niche titles. Includes titles from Amazon Publishing, Audible, Macmillan, and its distributed imprints.
  • Simultaneous Multi-User Collections (unique to Palace): These carefully curated collections provide unlimited, simultaneous access based on the population they serve. It is an efficient way to offer “all-you-can-read” access to a community.
  • Community Reads: Our team negotiates custom pricing for time-bound promotions, such as “One City, One Book” events, upon request.

In addition to these preferred models, we offer a wide range of standard options, including 1-to-5-year time-bound offers and bundles ranging from 1 to 55 lends.

What We Hear from Libraries

Our library partners say loud and clear that one size does not fit all. In a recent series of focus groups with selectors, several key themes emerged:

  • Options, Options, Options: Libraries want a choice in how they acquire digital books depending on the title. As one selector noted, “I love these options; perpetual lets me tap a separate funding source.”
  • Circulation-Based Over Time-Based: Libraries strongly prefer models metered by the number of lends rather than time-bound licenses, ensuring they get 100% of the value they paid for. They prefer bundles (like 100 or 5 simultaneous-use loans) to fill targeted hold lists.
  • Scalability for Different Budgets: Large libraries favor the 100-concurrent-lend bundles, while smaller libraries with tighter budgets prefer the 40-loan/10-at-a-time or 5-loan models.
  • The Niche for Time-Bound Offers: While generally less preferred, time-bound offers are useful for books with a short shelf life, like travel guides, coding manuals, or health books. Librarians use these models to ensure outdated information naturally rotates out of their collections.
  • Perpetual Access is Essential for the Backlist: Time-based licenses are not suitable for older books that may only circulate a few times a year. One librarian noted, “Publishers don’t stop publishing, so keeping their backlist is really hard if the licenses are time-based. Offering perpetual, at least on the backlist, will lead to sales of the frontlist.”
  • AI Must Be Labeled: Libraries continually stress the importance of accurate metadata regarding AI. It is critical that publishers use ONIX fields to disclose if a book features AI-generated text or an AI narrator.

Variable Holds Ratios: Leading librarians are increasingly shopping based on value, creating different holds ratios depending on the license’s cost and longevity. (We recently covered this in a Digital Shelf webinar.)

What We Hear from Publishers

When libraries lend, publishers win. Not only do libraries buy books, but they are also a critical engine for discovering new authors. Here is what we hear frequently from our publishing partners:

  • Publishers Want Libraries to Thrive: This sentiment is especially palpable at events like IndieLib, a gathering of libraries and indie publishers that Lyrasis helps sponsor and convene.
  • Acceptance of the Ownership Model is Growing: Most publishers that review it are comfortable with it. Authors and publishers alike want books preserved for the long term, and this model is growing quickly.
  • Piracy is No Longer the Primary Concern: Ten years ago, digital piracy was a constant topic of discussion. Today, publishers trust the security of the library ecosystem. Palace has undergone countless security audits, and we rarely field questions about DRM or piracy anymore.
  • Streamlined Pricing: Publishers appreciate that our “menu” of options is generated by applying standard multipliers to a single ONIX price. This saves publishers from having to manually create and track separate pricing tiers for each model.
  • Data Hunger: Publishers are eager for more circulation data. However, due to strict privacy protections and our deference to libraries (the data belongs to them, not us), Palace limits the data we share.
  • Big Five Progress: We continue to work closely with the Big Five publishers. While progress can be slow, these conversations are bearing fruit. For example, Penguin Random House now offers individual one-loan licenses on over 125,000 titles, and Macmillan offers “bushels” of 5 simultaneous loans on most of its catalog.
  • Indie Enthusiasm: Outside the Big Five, publisher enthusiasm for library models is even higher. Of the last 100 publishers onboarded to the Palace Marketplace, 95% are participating in all of our recommended à la carte models.

As a whole, we believe that publishers and libraries are on the same side, and together, we can ensure robust access to books, information, and learning. We stand ready and eager to continue facilitating a thriving book ecosystem for everyone.

To learn more about the Palace Project, please reach out to us at info@thepalaceproject.org.