A platform for accessing rare and hard-to-find books from across Europe. Find books from European libraries and access out-of-print and digitally restricted titles in two clicks, legally, affordably and privately.
Finding out-of-print, rare or orphan books is a monumental task, often ending in prohibitively expensive secondary-market prices - or in dead ends.
Existing digital options often operate in a legal grey area, leaving readers and organisations exposed to copyright infringement concerns.
Access is limited by location-specific library holdings and interlibrary loan restrictions, creating significant inequities in research.
Manual searches, fragmented marketplaces and complex legal vetting make obtaining niche materials slow, expensive and unpredictable.
Libraries never own the e-books they lend. Licence-based models make digital lending temporary and costly, so the digital shelf shrinks instead of growing. Watch 1 minute video about 'eBookSOS' problem.
OpenEuropeBooks™ orchestrates a decentralised network for 'private copy' book fulfilment. It connects people and organisations looking for books with other members of the platform who are willing to visit a library and scan a requested book. The platform also works with 'book-of-one' print shop partners, allowing users to order a printed copy of the book they want. The platform handles legal validation, automated print-ready conversion, auditable anonymous delivery, and secures all data operations. The goal is a decentralised, cooperatively owned library that provides digital and paper copies free of charge to readers.
Legal validation
Every private-copy request is checked against the copyright exceptions of the relevant EU Member State before any work starts.
Automated fulfilment
From scan to print-ready conversion and anonymous delivery, the entire flow runs without manual intervention.
Community network
A community of volunteer scanners and specialised print shops removes the geographic barriers of local library holdings.
Secure & auditable
All data operations are secured, and every step leaves a transparent audit trail for compliance and trust.
This creates an entirely new, legally robust and privacy-compliant ecosystem for rare books - turning a fragmented, often illegal and inefficient process into a seamless, ethical and scalable service for private use.
Using our search bar, you can find a book across European library collections. If the title is not available to you at a nearby library (for example, in another EU country), submit a request. The system checks whether the request is legally valid and, if so, invites volunteers to scan the book. Join our community by registering in the app and request a legal digital copy of the book you're looking for for free.
A volunteer borrows the physical book from their local library and scans it with a smartphone. No special equipment is needed - a desk lamp and a dark background are enough (see instructions). The volunteer then uploads the scans to the app for you. Review the result, request corrections if needed, or accept the completed scan. Become a volunteer, scan requested books for other community members and earn tokens* for every book you scan.
Once you approve the result, download it to your device**. You can also send it to print. Your legally compliant copy will be printed at a partner “book-of-one” print shop close to your home and delivered to you - one printed book with a digital twin, in the font size you need.
A simple interface for submitting specific long-tail book requests.
A community of approved scanning volunteers and bureaus, checked for quality and compliance.
Scanned material is converted into print-ready files for 'book-of-one' production.
Efficient, anonymous routing to specialised print shops for physical fulfilment.
A transparent, tamper-evident record of every step of a request, for compliance and trust.
Privacy-preserving tracking of your order from request to delivery.
Find the books you need and start your digital collection.
€0
Create a free account to search and request books.
For readers who want more books, in digital and print.
€12
/ yearAll Free Tier benefits, with unlimited scan requests and one printed book included.
For researchers who need access to scientific articles.
Share or use tokens
A win-win exchange: contribute your own article and gain access to articles on the platform.
Developed in collaboration with UpCode (UPC Oy), Hunkeler AG, READ-COOP, Findynet Cooperative, iGrant.io, MyData Global, the OpenGLAM network and several other partners. Trials have run with Finnish public libraries (HELMET, Lippulaiva) and the City of Helsinki participatory budget project OmaStadi.
Join the waiting list to get early access and updates, or start searching European library collections right away.