Audiobooks are a vital part of any public library’s collections, and streaming audio has become the preferred format among patrons. Yet, librarians often struggle to navigate the various access models available from publishers.

While the “one copy, one user” access model is the most commonly used model in libraries today, in which only one digital copy of an audiobook is available for circulation at a time, this model doesn’t serve the needs of patrons well—especially for popular new releases. Simultaneous-use models meet patrons’ needs much more effectively, and in May the collection will feature unlimited access to popular e-magazines.

Blackstone Audio has a solution to this challenge. Its Blackstone Unlimited offering is a digital audiobook platform that offers simultaneous, unlimited access to titles for a fixed annual subscription rate that makes budgeting simple.

“Library patrons are looking for instantaneous, unlimited access to audiobooks, because that’s how they use digital services in their own lives,” said National Sales Manager Craig Mears. “Blackstone Unlimited alleviates the stress on librarians with high demand in this format, because the platform’s audiobooks are never on hold.”

Meeting a Growing Demand

Launched in 2024 and currently available in more than 300 library systems, Blackstone Unlimited offers more than 7,000 adult and children’s audiobook titles through an intuitive, easy-to-use platform, with new content added quarterly at no additional cost.

Libraries can subscribe to the adult collection, the children’s/young adult collection, or both. There are mobile apps for streaming the audiobooks on Apple or Android devices, and the collection will soon feature unlimited access to popular e-magazines such as People and Women’s Health as well.

Blackstone Unlimited meets the growing demand for streaming audiobook titles in libraries, as noted in a 2024 survey from Library Journal, School Library Journal, and the Audio Publishers Association (APA).

Digital audiobooks now account for 70 percent of adult audio circulation and 56 percent of youth audio circulation in libraries, the survey found, and respondents reported a 9-percent year-over-year increase in spending on digital audio materials for their adult collections. Nearly half (46 percent) of public libraries have seen their circulation of adult digital audiobooks increase significantly over the past year.

Blackstone Unlimited also meets the demand for high-quality audiobooks read only by human narrators and not AI. The LJ/SLJ/APA survey found that one-third of respondents would not purchase an audiobook with a non-human narrator, and 38 percent would only choose an AI-voiced audiobook if there were no other option available. Blackstone Unlimited features only carefully vetted, high-quality audiobooks voiced by human narrators.

Best of Both Worlds

Librarians using Blackstone Unlimited appreciate having no holds and no waits for streaming audiobook titles, all for one set price.

Karim Khan, director of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library in Virginia, said he’s seen interest in audiobook content surging among patrons. “If the same book is available in both audio and ebook formats, often the audiobook version will outcirculate the ebook version,” he said.

Khan’s library has been using Blackstone Unlimited since the platform’s launch last year. Before, it used another vendor to provide simultaneous, unlimited access to audiobooks, but it discovered this service’s pay-per-use model was challenging to budget for.

“Some months, we paid a few thousand dollars more than we anticipated,” he noted, adding: “You can’t get much more predictable than a flat rate.”

The Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont, had a similar experience. “We saw that patrons wanted access to audiobook content with no wait times,” said Assistant Director Emer P. Feeney. For many patrons, she explained, listening to an audiobook meets an immediate, spur-of-the-moment need, such as: “I just want a light romance to listen to on my drive down to Washington, D.C., this weekend.”

Although another service filled that demand, it was not sustainable from a budgeting perspective. “Interest in audiobooks might be going up, but our ability to pay for them is not,” Feeney said.

With Blackstone Unlimited, the Fletcher Free Library gets the best of both worlds: No wait times for patrons and no per-use fees to contend with.

“What you see is what you get,” Feeney concluded. “We appreciate that.”
 

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