Tibi - Norwegian Library for Accessible Literature

What Tibi - Norwegian Library for Accessible Literature does

Tibi - Norwegian Library for Accessible Literature (Biblioteket for tilrettelagt litteratur) is the specialized accessible-literature service of Nasjonalbiblioteket, the National Library of Norway. Headquartered in Oslo at Observatoriegata 1b, the organization produces and lends audiobooks in DAISY format, e-books in EPUB, braille (punktskrift), tactile books (følebøker), and text-to-speech ("talesyntese") rendered study literature and periodicals, to people whose print-reading is impaired by disability or illness. Borrowers access content through the Tibi mobile app on iOS and Android, the tibi.no website and browser-based reader (Tibi Nettleserbok), specialized DAISY players distributed via NAV Hjelpemiddelsentral, and third-party reading applications such as Dolphin EasyReader, with delivery to Kindle and PocketBook devices supported via email-based integrations. All audiobooks carry per-borrower digital watermarks for copyright traceability, and authentication for the Nettbiblioteket layer uses the government's ID-Porten identity service. Disability verification issued by Tibi also enables Norwegian borrowers to access partner catalogs at Bookshare (USA), NOTA (Denmark), and MTM/Legimus (Sweden).

Tibi is a non-traded department of a Norwegian government state entity and is not a separately capitalized business. It is funded through annual appropriations to Nasjonalbiblioteket approved by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget), and the service is provided free of charge to registered borrowers with documented print-reading disabilities. Revenue mechanics are therefore public-budget allocations rather than user fees, subscriptions, or commercial licensing, and pricing is not publicly disclosed. The 124-person operation serves Norwegian residents across three primary segments: people with visual impairments, students with visual impairments at universities and vocational schools (whose custom-produced curriculum literature is a specialization), and people with other reading disabilities such as dyslexia; group-level go-to-market relies on partner networks (public libraries, schools, disability interest organizations), social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), email newsletters, and webinars rather than paid acquisition. Operationally, Tibi is consolidating onto digital channels: newspaper and magazine CD distribution ended May 1, 2026, schoolbook lending for primary and secondary schools ends from autumn 2026, and a help-page refresh in 2025 and partner resource pages launched in April 2024 reflect an ongoing digitization of both delivery and outreach.

Name

Tibi - Norwegian Library for Accessible Literature

Legal name

Tibi - Biblioteket for tilrettelagt litteratur (Tibi - The Library for Adapted Literature)

Website

https://tibi.no

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Tibi is a Norwegian government library service that produces and lends free audiobooks, e-books, braille, and tactile books to residents with documented print-reading disabilities. It is operated as a department of Nasjonalbiblioteket and funded by annual parliamentary appropriations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Accessible Library Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Accessible & Alternative Format Materials (Braille, Large Print, Audio, Tactile Graphics) (EDAGAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assistive Technology Lending Libraries, Trials & Device Loan Programs (EDAKAIAL), Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) & Format Conversion (Braille, Large Print, DAISY) (EDAKAIAH), Reading & Literacy Intervention Materials for Learning Disabilities (Dyslexia, Decoding, Comprehension) (EDAGAMAH)

Keywords

• Accessible library services
• Audiobook lending
• Braille books
• E-book library
• Print disability services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Tibi is a service from Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway) and is funded through annual government budget decisions by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget). The service is provided free of charge to eligible borrowers with documented reading disabilities.
2. Library Services (Free for Users): Tibi provides free lending services for audiobooks, e-books, braille books, and study literature to registered borrowers who qualify due to documented reading disabilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tibi is a publicly funded Norwegian library service that lends audiobooks, e-books, braille books, tactile books, and accessible newspapers and magazines free of charge to people with documented reading disabilities. The service produces accessible study materials for blind and visually impaired students and distributes content via its mobile app, website, browser reader, mail-delivered CDs, and integration with DAISY players and partner apps such as EasyReader.

Product overview

Tibi is a unified accessible literature library service operated by the National Library of Norway (Nasjonalbiblioteket). The core service provides free lending of audiobooks, e-books, and braille books to people with print disabilities. The primary access channels are the Tibi website (tibi.no) and Tibi mobile app for iOS and Android. Supporting products include the Tibi Nettleserbok for browser-based playback, DAISY-format audiobooks with specialized players, tactile books (følebøker), study literature with text-to-speech voices, and newspapers/magazines. The service integrates with EasyReader (Dolphin), Kindle, PocketBook, Nettbiblioteket, Bookshare, MTM Sweden, NOTA Denmark, and government ID-Porten. Users can also access books from partner libraries in Sweden and the US through Tibi's inter-library arrangements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tibi Library Service (Accessible Lending Platform)

Quantifiable outcome

• Production of accessible study literature for blind and visually impaired students

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTibi is a service from Nasjonalbiblioteket. Nasjonalbiblioteket provides the funding, infrastructure, and operational support for Tibi through annual government budget allocations approved by Stortinget. Tibi is the Department for Adapted Literature within the National Library.
• BooksharecoreTechnology or IntegrationBookshare is an American digital library with a large collection of e-books and narrated books. As a Tibi borrower, users can access Bookshare after Tibi confirms their documented reading disability. Tibi issues verification of disability for users registering with Bookshare.
• NOTA (Denmark)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOTA is Tibi's Danish sister library. Tibi can issue confirmation of disability for Norwegian users who wish to access NOTA's services.
• MTM/Legimus (Sweden)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMTM (Myndigheten för tillgängliga medier) is Sweden's agency for accessible media. Tibi borrowers can access books from MTM's library service Legimus. Tibi coordinates with MTM to provide cross-border access to accessible literature.
• Nasjonalt lesesenter (National Reading Center)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTibi collaborated with Nasjonalt lesesenter to create a webinar for teachers about using Tibi in the classroom. The 11-minute webinar provides practical introduction to the Tibi service for educators.
• Dolphin (EasyReader)coreTechnology or IntegrationDolphin EasyReader is a reading app developed specifically for people with visual impairments, dyslexia, or other reading difficulties. Tibi integrates with EasyReader, allowing borrowers to access and borrow books from Tibi through the EasyReader app.
• NAV HjelpemiddelsentralminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNAV Hjelpemiddelsentral (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration Assistive Technology Center) provides DAISY players to visually impaired individuals. Tibi provides the connection settings for DAISY players to access Tibi's online services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CELA (Centre for Equitable Library Access): Canadian accessible library serving public libraries and print-disabled patrons with audio, braille, and e-books. Operates as a shared service for Canadian public libraries — a comparable aggregator model to Tibi's public-library partnership channel.
• Bookshare: US-based accessible digital library (operated by Benetech) offering e-books and audiobooks to people with print disabilities. Tibi has a formal partnership letting Norwegian borrowers register with Bookshare via Tibi-issued disability confirmation.
• Vision Australia Library: Australian accessible library providing audio, braille, and large-print materials to blind and print-disabled patrons. Comparable non-profit public-service model with catalog, lending, and DAISY-format distribution.
• National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS/BPH, Library of Congress): US government-administered accessible library serving print-disabled patrons with braille, audio, and large-print materials. Same public-mandate model and free service delivery structure as Tibi, scaled to the US population.
• MTM / Legimus (Sweden): Sweden's national agency for accessible media (Myndigheten för tillgängliga medier), operating the Legimus library. Tibi and MTM have a mutual partnership enabling cross-border borrowing of study literature, making them the closest direct peer.
• NOTA (Denmark): Denmark's national library for accessible literature. Tibi issues disability verification so Norwegian borrowers can access NOTA. Same mandate, same Nordic context, same formats — essentially a sister service.
• RNIB Library (Royal National Institute of Blind People): UK accessible library providing audiobooks, braille, and large print to blind and partially sighted readers. Comparable mandate, catalog breadth, and direct-to-consumer lending model.
• Passend Lezen (NL): Dutch accessible reading service providing audiobooks and e-books to people with reading disabilities, operated under the Dutch public library umbrella (KB). Same DAISY-based audio library and government mandate structure as Tibi.

Emerging players

• Speechify: AI-driven text-to-speech consumer app that reads any text aloud, including scanned books and documents. Represents the emerging consumer-grade alternative to dedicated accessible libraries that could erode Tibi's value proposition for casual reading use cases.

Broad incumbents

• OverDrive / Libby: Mainstream commercial digital library platform serving public libraries worldwide with audiobooks and e-books. Broader audience and commercial scope, but increasingly overlaps with accessible reading use cases via built-in TTS and dyslexic-font features.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@tibi-bibliotek
• Facebookfacebook.com/tibi.bibliotek
• Instagraminstagram.com/tibi_bibliotek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tibi-bibliotek

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 →

Frequently asked questions about Tibi - Norwegian Library for Accessible Literature