Axiell Media Delivers Swedish eBooks and Audio Books to the Helmet Library Consortium in Helsinki

Stockholm, Sweden January 31, 2018 - Axiell Media, the largest distributor of e-books and audiobooks in the Nordic region, has signed a cooperation agreement with Helmet Libraries for the distribution of Swedish e-books and audiobooks. Currently, Axiell Media distributes over 20,000 titles from 650 publishers to about 300 libraries in Sweden and Finland. In addition to the Helmet library consortia, nine other Finnish libraries are are using the service.

The popularity of e-books and audiobooks is growing in Finland. This is evidenced by quarterly statistics collected by the Finnish Book Publishing Association in relation to last year's book sales, where sales of e-publications in euros grew by almost 60 per cent on the previous year. Sales of downloadable audiobooks even exceeded the value of e-book sales.

The same trend is also evident in libraries: in 2017, Helmet Library e-book usage rose by 34 per cent from the previous year. In response to this demand, Helmet Libraries signed a cooperation agreement for the distribution of Swedish-language e-books and audiobooks with Axiell Media.

Saara Leskinen, Helmet Libraries' Electronic Publishing Department: "Helmet Libraries serve customers in a bilingual area, but so far we have been unable to provide Swedish-language material in electronic format to our patrons. We wanted to improve access to Swedish e-books and audiobooks We wanted to improve access to Swedish e-books and audiobooks and by choosing Axiell Media as our partner, we can now offer this to our patrons. "

Swedish-language audiobooks can be listened to either using the Elib platform or the Biblio application. The latter of which is downloadable to mobile devices from the Google Play Store and the App Store. Helmet customers sign up for the Elib service and Biblio app with their own Library Card ID and PIN code.

Eva Houltzen, Managing Director of Axiell Media: "We are happy to have Helmet Libraries as an Axiell customer. It is great to follow the growing popularity of electronic media in Finland. Helmet Libraries have been a pioneer in promoting e-reading and that's why it's great that they specifically selected Axiell Media as a partner to increase their e-book and audiobook offerings. "

Helmet is a network of public libraries in the Helsinki metropolitan area. It includes the city libraries of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, serving over a million residents of the Helsinki metropolitan area. More information is available at www-helmet.fi.