NORSK LYD OG BLINDESKRIFTBIBLIOTEK

What NORSK LYD OG BLINDESKRIFTBIBLIOTEK does

Tibi (legal name: Norsk lyd- og punktskriftbibliotek) is a Norwegian public library service that produces and lends accessible-format literature to people who have difficulty reading visual text due to disability or illness. The service is operated as a department of Nasjonalbiblioteket (the National Library of Norway) and is fully funded by the Norwegian government, making it free at the point of use for all eligible borrowers across Norway. Its core product offering comprises three formats: audiobooks (lydbøker), e-books (e-bøker), and braille books (punktskrift), spanning all genres for children, youth, and adults, with a catalogue of several thousand e-book titles and continuous new production.

Distribution is omnichannel: the tibi.no website and the Tibi mobile application provide digital streaming and download of audiobooks and e-books, while CD audiobooks and braille booklets are delivered by physical mail nationwide. The go-to-market is community-led, with a self-service borrower registration flow supplemented by promotional resources (logos, images, suggested copy) made available to public libraries, schools, and disability interest organizations for use in their own channels. A co-developed webinar with Nasjonalt lesesenter (the National Reading Center) supports teacher adoption.

Commercially, Tibi is not a revenue-generating entity; it functions as a publicly funded cultural and accessibility service with no pricing to users, no private investors, and no external funding rounds. The organization is headquartered at Observatoriegata 1b in Oslo (organization number 976 029 100), has a staff of approximately six, and recently announced a scope reduction — discontinuing school book lending for primary and secondary education from autumn 2026 — while continuing its core accessible-literature mandate.

Name

NORSK LYD OG BLINDESKRIFTBIBLIOTEK

Legal name

Norsk lyd- og punktskriftbibliotek

Website

https://nlb.no

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tibi is a Norwegian government library service under Nasjonalbiblioteket that lends free audiobooks, e-books, and braille books to citizens with reading difficulties, distributed via the tibi.no platform, Tibi mobile app, and nationwide postal delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Accessible Library Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAFAKAD

Assistive Vision & Screen Access (Screen Readers, Magnification, Braille Displays/Notetakers)

Education/Education Technology (EdTech) & Digital Learning/Accessibility, Assistive Technology & Special Needs EdTech

SECONDARYEDAKAIAF

Vision Assistive Technology (Screen Readers, Braille, Magnification)

Education/Special Education & Learning Support Services/Assistive Technology (AT) Assessment, Devices & Training

SECONDARYEDALAGAD

Note-Taking, Interpreting & Communication Access Services

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Disability Services & Accessibility

Keywords

• Accessible library services
• Audiobook lending
• Braille book production
• E-book lending
• Adapted literature

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government-funded public library service: Tibi is a free public library service funded entirely by the Norwegian government through Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway). Users with eligible reading difficulties can borrow materials at no cost. The service operates as a core government function providing accessibility to literature for disabled citizens.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tibi is a Norwegian government library service that produces and lends accessible literature — audiobooks, e-books, and braille books — free of charge to individuals who have difficulty reading visual text due to disability or illness. The service is operated as a department under the National Library of Norway (Nasjonalbiblioteket) and delivers content via the tibi.no digital platform, the Tibi mobile app, and physical mail (CD audiobooks and braille booklets). It serves users nationwide across all genres for children, youth, and adults, with thousands of titles and continuous new production.

Product overview

Tibi is a unified library service operated by the Norwegian National Library (Nasjonalbiblioteket) that produces and lends adapted literature to people with reading difficulties. The service offers three core product formats—Lydbøker (audiobooks), Punktskrift (braille books), and E-bøker (e-books)—all accessible through the Tibi mobile application. Together, these products provide a comprehensive reading solution across different accessibility needs and preferences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lydbøker (Audiobooks) Digital and physical audiobook lending service spanning all genres for children, youth, and adults. Users can stream/download audiobooks digitally or receive CDs by mail. Provided free of charge to eligible users with reading difficulties.
• Punktskrift (Braille Books) Braille book production and postal lending service. Provides a large selection of braille books across all genres for children, youth, and adults, delivered as physical booklets by mail. Provided free of charge to eligible users.
• E-bøker (E-books) Digital e-book lending service covering academic/study literature, fiction, and non-fiction. Collection includes several thousand titles with new titles produced regularly. Provided free of charge to eligible users with reading difficulties.
• Tibi-appen (Tibi Mobile App) Mobile application for accessing and borrowing adapted literature from Tibi. Enables users to listen to audiobooks and read e-books directly on their mobile devices. Free for eligible registered borrowers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free access to adapted literature for all eligible Norwegians with reading disabilities

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTibi is operated as a service under Nasjonalbiblioteket. The National Library provides funding, infrastructure, and institutional support for the accessible literature library service.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Storytel: Major commercial audiobook and e-book streaming platform active in the Nordics. Not a direct competitor on accessibility, but a key alternative for users with mild reading difficulties who may not need Tibi's specialized formats.
• DAISY Consortium: International standards body for accessible digital publishing (DAISY format), on which Tibi's audiobook and braille production workflows depend. Ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor, but central to the accessible-reading category Tibi operates in.

Emerging players

• Learning Ally: US nonprofit audiobook library focused specifically on students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Overlaps with Tibi on accessible audiobook lending for reading-disabled students, representing an education-segment-specialized parallel.

Regional players

• ONCE / Fundación ONCE (Celia Library Service): Spanish accessible book service for blind and visually impaired readers, providing audiobooks, braille and digital formats. Comparable product and target audience to Tibi, but operates in a different (Spanish-language) national market.

Direct peers

• Bookshare: US-based accessible digital library offering audiobooks, braille and read-aloud books to people with print disabilities. Same core service proposition as Tibi (alternative-format book lending to people who cannot read print), although operated by a nonprofit rather than a state agency.
• Legimus (Myndigheten för tillgängliga medier / Swedish Agency for Accessible Media): Swedish state-operated accessible library platform providing audiobooks, e-books and braille to people with reading disabilities. Near-identical mandate, funding model and product set to Tibi, making it the closest direct peer.

Broad incumbents

• RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People): UK charity providing a wide range of services for blind and partially sighted people, including library and reading services. Overlaps with Tibi on accessible reading support but operates across a much broader mandate (advice, campaigning, products).
• National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS, Library of Congress): US federal program that distributes audio and braille books to print-disabled Americans. Highly comparable institutional model to Tibi as a publicly funded accessible library, but operating at much larger national scale and with broader institutional parent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@tibi-bibliotek
• Facebookfacebook.com/tibi.bibliotek
• Instagraminstagram.com/tibi_bibliotek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/norsk-lyd-og-blindeskriftbibliotek

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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