Penguin Random House

OVERVIEW

Website: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/

The largest publisher of the Big Five, PRH commands an estimated 24% of the U.S. market. Its dozens of imprints mean that PRH has books to offer on a wide range of subjects and genres for all ages. It published ~4500 eBooks and ~2200 eAudiobooks on OverDrive in the last year.

  • eBooks: PRH’s standard eBook licenses allows one loan at a time and expires after 24 months. At a price of $55.00, it exceeds the average cost of the print equivalent $17.52. RF Not Recommended.

  • eAudio: PRH’s standard eAudio license allows one loan at a time and does not expire. At an average price of $91.20, it exceeds what we consider to be a reasonable maximum price for a perpetual use license. The average price is of the equivalent titles on Audible is $19.90. RF Not Recommended.

NOTES

Pandemic pricing made permanent: PRH enabled special pandemic pricing, which allowed libraries to license eBooks and eAudiobooks for 12 months instead of 24 months at 50% of the price of the standard license. While this is not a discount, it has reduced what libraries were previously forced to spend on duplicate copies of popular books. For example, the Washington Digital Library Consortium will license up to 20 copies of a best-seller. Previously, it would have spent $1,100 (20 x $55) meeting customer demand for an eBook like The Judge’s List by John Grisham. Now WDLC is able to buy one two-year license and 19 one-year licenses for a total cost of $577.50. It allows much more flexibility with the digital book budget. The special pandemic pricing was made permanent in 2023.

Cost-per-circ: On OverDrive, PRH does offer its complete catalog on a cost-per-circ model where the cost-per-circ is 10% of the standard license. This means that each circulation can cost up to $9, but may be useful for libraries considering book-of-the-month or community event programs.

OVERDRIVE ADVANCED SEARCH

Different publishers categorize their titles in different ways and it is not always possible to search OverDrive in a way that will capture all titles. The searches below should find the bulk of them.

  • eBooks: in the Publisher Account field, select “Penguin Group USA” and “Random House Inc”

  • eAudio: in the Publisher Account field, select “Books on Tape”

Last updated: 3/29/2024