Ireland – Database systems – Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency (VEAT) Notice for Award of Contract to Press Reader International Limited for provision of interactive digital access to newspapers and magazines.

Dublin City Council gives notice to invoke Article 32.2(b) (iii) for a derogation from public procurement whereby the works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights. Dublin City Council intends to award a contract to PressReader International Limited for 4 years. The maximum value of of this contract is €110,203 ex VAT. PressReader provides interactive digital access to 7500+ newspapers and magazines from 150+ countries in 60+ languages. PressReader is the only supplier to provide 24/7 access from any location for library users to an extensive range of Irish regional newspapers as well as The Irish Independent and The Sunday Independent. According to Central Statistics Office data, non-Irish citizens account for 17% of the population in Dublin, and research from Trinity College Dublin indicates that over 200 languages are spoken in the city. PressReader caters to people living and working in Dublin city, including new communities, by allowing access to global digital content in dozens of languages from Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Canada, and The U.S. PressReader has a translation facility for up to 35 languages to allow library members to translate complete newspapers or articles into their preferred language, and 25+ interface language options to allow easier navigation of the resource in a variety of languages including Irish. PressReader features 50+ Irish publications. They have an exclusive contract with Mediahaus that allows Dublin City library members 24/7 access from any location to the Irish Independent and The Sunday Independent. This exclusive contract also allows Dublin City members 24/7 access from any location an extensive range of Irish regional newspapers. PressReader have exclusive rights to provide 24/7 remote access from all locations to the following global high-demand titles: The Economist, nyt.com, The New York Times Review of Books, Wall Street Journal, Le Figaro, USA Today, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek International, and BBC Good Food. The PressReader platform facilitates library members to access as much content on the platform as they wish without borrower limits or a requirement to download content. All of PressReader content is also accessible using an accessibility mode, which meets the WCAG 2.1. criteria: • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 defines how to make Web content more accessible to people with disabilities. • Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. • Featuring audio, tab navigation, color contrast, large named buttons and user font size control, PressReader’s accessibility mode uses assistive technology to serve readers with additional requirements. • The PressReader platform features text-to-speech capability that allows users listen to content and perform other tasks at the same time. PressReader provides content in over 30 different categories, ensuring extensive coverage on a variety of topics, including: Current Affairs & Business; News; Travel & Culture; Sports; Crafts & Hobbies; Computers & Tech; Gaming; Health & Fitness; Art; Design; Photography; Automotive; Home & Garden; Food & Drinks; Parenting & Family; For Kids & Tweens; and many more. Library users can browse articles and other key elements on PressReader, including pictures, advertisements, classifieds, and notices, perform keyword searches across all titles, and save stories and full publications, As well as current day, full content access, PressReader is supports the reference and research requirements of library members by facilitating access to archives going back to 2004 with advanced Boolean search capabilities. It includes built-in monitoring alerts on saved topics, allowing library members to track topics of interest. PressReader facilitates local content digitisation and distribution by allowing libraries to digitise library publications and content to make them available globally on the PressReader platform. PressReader Analytics provides access to valuable information for library administrators such as content usage and engagement including issue opens, article opens and top publications; peak times and demographics; custom reports for offline analysis and comparison; reports by platform, device, location, content language, country, and more.