FAQ's about ePlatform

ePlatform’s Shared Collections are large, centrally managed digital libraries that schools subscribe to for an annual fee. Instead of purchasing every title individually, your school joins a consortium-style collection, giving students access to a broad and constantly updated range of age-appropriate eBooks and audiobooks.

Each collection is tailored to the type of school and region. For example, Primary vs Secondary, UK vs Australia, so the titles are always relevant. They are curated by ePlatform’s professional selectors, who use borrowing data, curriculum requirements, award winners, and librarian feedback to ensure the catalogue stays engaging and appropriate. Popular titles are purchased in multiple copies to maintain high availability, and new releases are added regularly so the collection feels fresh.

For schools, Shared Collections provide exceptional value. For the cost of purchasing around 60–70 titles, you gain access to more than 1,000 eBooks and audiobooks. Because the curation and cataloguing are managed by ePlatform, the workload for staff is minimal, while students still enjoy the variety of a large and diverse library. Schools can also combine a Shared Collection with private purchases, for example, class sets or specialist titles, in a hybrid model that offers the best of both breadth and depth.

For pricing information, see our School Library Pricing page: https://www.eplatform.co/au/pricing/school-library-pricing

Shared Collections (subscription): your school subscribes to a large, centrally curated catalogue. It’s high value, low admin, and kept up-to-date by ePlatform. Availability is governed by Fair Use so all member schools get equitable access; ePlatform scales copies for popular titles.

Private Collections (owned titles): your school purchases specific eBooks/audiobooks for exclusive use. You choose what to buy (e.g., class sets, curriculum texts, specialist titles) and keep those titles year-to-year, with loan limits based on copies owned.

Most schools choose a hybrid: subscribe to Shared for breadth and discovery, then add private titles to create depth where it matters most.

Many schools choose to combine a Shared Collection with private purchases in what we call a hybrid model. The Shared Collection gives your students breadth, a wide variety of titles across genres, age groups, and subjects, while private purchases let you add depth in areas that matter most to your school.

For example, a school might purchase class sets of curriculum novels, multiple copies of popular titles, or specialist books that aren’t part of the shared catalogue. These private titles appear seamlessly alongside your Shared Collection in ePlatform, so students experience one unified library.

This approach allows schools to enjoy the best of both worlds: the affordability and variety of a Shared Collection, plus the control and flexibility of having exclusive access to them according to Publisher T&C’s.

The main benefit of Shared Collections is value. For a relatively small annual contribution, your school gains access to a large, professionally curated catalogue of eBooks and audiobooks that would cost tens of thousands of dollars to replicate through individual purchases. Because the collection is centrally managed, schools don’t need to worry about constantly selecting, purchasing, or updating titles, ePlatform handles this for you.

To ensure fairness across all member schools, Shared Collections operate under a Fair Use policy. This sets generous limits on simultaneous loans, monthly borrowing, and the number of copies available per school. For example, a student may only borrow two shared titles at once, and a school cannot hold more than one copy of a single title at the same time. These limits are designed to prevent a small number of users from exhausting resources, while still giving every school broad and equitable access.

In practice, most schools never run into these limits. Popular books are purchased in multiple copies to meet demand, and collections are refreshed regularly with new releases and additional stock. The result is high availability for students, balanced with fair access for every school in the consortium.

Schools that cater to both age groups can subscribe to both the Primary and Secondary Shared Collections. Each collection is curated separately to ensure the content is age-appropriate and relevant, but they can run side by side under your school’s ePlatform.

This allows you to offer younger students access to titles that support early literacy and curriculum needs, while also providing older students with a catalogue of novels, non-fiction, and audiobooks suited to secondary learning. Both collections appear seamlessly through your school’s portal, with the option to apply age restrictions so students only see material appropriate to them.

Shared Collections are refreshed on a rolling basis throughout the year, usually once a month. Our selector team monitors borrowing data and reserves, and regularly adds new releases, award winners, curriculum-relevant titles, and additional copies of in-demand books. When waitlists build, extra copies are prioritised so students can access popular reads with minimal delay.

We also take into account requests and feedback from member schools, which help guide curation alongside data insights. Older or low-use titles may occasionally be rotated out to ensure the catalogue stays fresh, relevant, and engaging.

Titles for our Shared Collections are selected through a multi-faceted curation process led by our team of professional selectors. The goal is to provide every school with a broad, engaging, and curriculum-relevant library.

The process includes:

• Borrowing data – analysing usage from thousands of existing school eLibraries to identify what’s most popular for each age group and region.
• New releases & award winners – ensuring students always have access to fresh and high-quality titles.
• Curriculum alignment – adding books that support study requirements and classroom reading.
• Feedback from schools – incorporating requests and suggestions from consortium members to keep collections relevant and responsive.

Collections are continually refreshed and expanded, with additional copies of in-demand titles purchased to maintain high availability.

Yes. Member schools can submit title requests (e.g., via your account contact or by email). Please include the title, author, ISBN, and a short note on why it’s needed (curriculum link, demand, reading program). Requests are reviewed against licensing availability, regional suitability, demand signals, and budget. While not every request can be added, school input is an important signal we use to shape the collection.

Shared Collections are currently available in a growing number of regions, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Each collection is tailored to local school types and curriculum priorities, so the content is always relevant to your region.

If you don’t see a Shared Collection listed for your country, it may not have launched there yet. Schools are welcome to express their interest, and in some cases ePlatform will establish a new consortium once there is enough demand. Bringing a group of schools together in your area can help us expand availability more quickly.

Even if you join a Shared Collection, your school still has its own ePlatform site. That means you retain full control over how your library looks and operates.

You can apply your school branding (logo, colours, and name), set your own loan rules, manage age restrictions, and access your own usage reports. Students log in through your school’s portal as usual, so the experience feels like “your library,” even though the titles are drawn from a central collection.

If you also purchase private titles, they sit seamlessly alongside your Shared Collection, so students discover everything in one place without needing to switch between systems.

This ensures your school keeps its own identity and admin controls while enjoying the affordability and breadth of a Shared Collection.

Availability is actively managed to make sure students don’t miss out on popular titles. ePlatform monitors reserves and borrowing patterns across all member schools and purchases multiple copies of in-demand books to keep up with demand.

The Shared Collection is also refreshed regularly with new releases, award winners, and trending titles, so students always have something new to read. On top of this, the Fair Use policy ensures that no single school can monopolise the collection, access remains equitable for everyone in the consortium.

In practice, schools find availability to be very high. Students are rarely left waiting, and the wide choice of titles means there is always something engaging ready to borrow.

Yes. Schools can arrange a guided demo and, where appropriate, a short pilot to evaluate ePlatform in real conditions. We help you set up access, test authentication, and explore the reader (web and app), reporting, and admin settings. We’ll also provide launch and training support so staff can experience how it would run day-to-day. To get started, contact us and we’ll propose a pilot scope that fits your timeline and requirements.

ePlatform is designed to be flexible so schools can choose the model that best suits their budget and needs. There are two main ways to access content:

Shared Collections (subscription model)

With a Shared Collection, your school pays a fixed annual fee. This subscription gives you access to a large, centrally managed catalogue of eBooks and audiobooks that is refreshed regularly and tailored to your school type and region. There are no extra hosting or setup costs — everything is included in the subscription.

Private Purchases (exclusive access to individual titles)

If you prefer, you can also purchase eBooks or audiobooks individually for your school’s exclusive use. Once purchased, these titles remain part of your school’s library, with no ongoing fees attached to them. Most private titles purchased do have time/loan limits as set by the Publisher (not ePlatform)

Many schools choose a hybrid approach, subscribing to a Shared Collection for breadth and variety, while also purchasing private titles such as class sets or specialist works for depth.

For current pricing options in your region, visit our School Library Pricing page: https://www.eplatform.co/pricing/school-library-pricing/

For most schools, there are no hidden or unexpected fees.

Shared Collections: The annual subscription fee is all-inclusive. It covers access to the catalogue, regular updates, additional copies of popular titles, hosting, and ongoing platform development. There are no extra hosting or setup charges on top of your subscription.

Private Purchases: When you buy individual titles, you only pay once per book. If your school doesn’t purchase any new titles in a given year, a small annual maintenance fee may apply to keep your ePlatform active, but many schools avoid this by purchasing even a few new titles each year.

This approach ensures schools have full budget certainty, with the option to scale investment up or down depending on needs.

Like other eBook platforms, ePlatform uses the Adobe Content Server to apply Digital Rights Management (DRM) to every eBook. DRM is required by publishers to protect copyright and prevent unauthorised copying or distribution.

Adobe charges ePlatform a per-loan licence fee each time a book is borrowed. To recover this hard cost, we apply a one-off DRM/hosting fee per title at the time of purchase. This fee covers the secure storage, encryption, and lending of that book under your chosen loan settings.

If your school subscribes to a Shared Collection, these DRM costs are already absorbed by ePlatform, so you won’t see them listed separately. The fee only applies when purchasing eBooks for a Private Collection.

This ensures all titles remain secure and compliant with publisher agreements, while still giving your students flexible access to borrow and read them.

Schools can move between Shared and Private options at any time, or even combine them in a hybrid model.

If you subscribe to a Shared Collection, you can still add private purchases, for example, class sets or specialist titles that aren’t in the shared catalogue. These private books sit seamlessly alongside your Shared Collection, so students see everything in one library.

If your school decides to move away from a Shared Collection in the future, any privately purchased titles remain yours permanently. This means you can build long-term depth in your collection while still enjoying the affordability and breadth of a Shared subscription.

This flexibility allows schools to adapt their ePlatform over time, depending on changing budgets, curriculum needs, or student demand.

Launching your ePlatform is just the first step, the more you promote it, the more students will read. We provide a full range of ready-made promotional resources to help you spread the word, including posters, bookmarks, shelf wobblers, and digital assets for newsletters or school websites. These can all be downloaded from the Admin → Admin Help & FAQs → Promotional Material section of your portal.

Schools also see great results when they:

• Feature ePlatform on the school website, social media, or apps.
• Include ePlatform in newsletters to inform parents and families.
• Run lunchtime or classroom sessions to show students how to log in and borrow.
• Tie ePlatform into special events like Book Week, reading challenges, or themed displays.
• Encourage teachers and keen students to act as champions, helping peers discover the platform.

With consistent promotion, ePlatform quickly becomes a familiar part of school life and a daily habit for students.

Students can access ePlatform on almost any device, whether at school or at home.

Mobile and tablets: The free ePlatform app is available on iOS, Android, and compatible Chromebooks. It allows students to borrow, download, and read eBooks or listen to audiobooks directly on their device.

Computers and laptops: ePlatform works in any modern web browser (PC or Mac), so students can read online or download for offline access.

The app includes features like offline reading, dyslexia-friendly settings, adjustable fonts, translation, notes, and audiobook playback controls. This flexibility means students can keep reading wherever they are — on the bus, at home, or in class.

Most schools can be up and running with ePlatform in as little as one business day. Once your subscription or purchase is confirmed, our team will:

• Configure your school’s ePlatform site with branding and admin settings.
• Set up student authentication (upload, SSO, LDAP, SIP2, or whichever method you choose).
• Provide MARC records so digital titles appear in your library catalogue.
• Give you access to promotional resources to help launch your eLibrary.

Because setup is straightforward and support is included, many schools find they can launch their ePlatform to staff and students almost immediately. Our team is also available to guide you through training, troubleshooting, or ongoing promotion so your eLibrary continues to thrive.

Every school has access to training and support to ensure ePlatform is a success from day one. Our team will guide you through setup and can provide tailored sessions for staff covering topics such as:

• Using the ePlatform app and website.
• Managing admin settings, age restrictions, and loan rules.
• Promoting ePlatform to students and staff.
• Accessing reports and analytics to track engagement.

Training can be delivered online and scheduled at a time that suits your school. In addition, you’ll find a library of help articles, step-by-step guides, and promotional materials available directly from the Admin portal.

Ongoing support is included at no extra cost, so you’ll always have help if you need it.

If you ever need help, there are several ways to get support:

Admin Portal: Under Admin → Admin Help & FAQs, you’ll find links to support articles, promotional materials, and setup resources.

Support Team: You can contact our support team directly for technical assistance or account questions. We’re here to help resolve issues quickly so your students can keep reading without interruption.

With 24/7 access to online resources and direct assistance from our support team, you’ll always have the guidance you need to manage and grow your eLibrary.