Libraries

Students discover useful content everywhere, not just inside library databases.

When they encounter participating publisher content behind a paywall, Content Credits gives them another way to access it immediately, without committing to another subscription.

Access at the moment of discovery.

Content Credits is designed to complement the subscriptions, databases, interlibrary loan, and document delivery services libraries already provide.

Over time, usage can also help identify what students seek beyond existing institutional holdings, giving libraries another signal of unmet content demand.

Faster access for students. Better insight for libraries. New revenue opportunities for publishers.

• Faster access at the moment of discovery. Give students another option when they encounter valuable content outside the library’s existing resources.
• Complement existing library services. Content Credits is designed to work alongside subscriptions, databases, interlibrary loan, and document delivery, not replace them.
• Understand unmet demand. See what content students are seeking beyond existing institutional holdings and use those signals to help inform future access and collection decisions.
• Expand access without another broad subscription. Explore affordable, article-level access to participating publishers when immediate access matters.

University and college libraries exploring new ways to help students access authoritative content they discover outside traditional library databases and existing institutional subscriptions.

Academic library systems and consortia interested in studying unmet content demand across institutions and exploring new models for immediate, article-level access.

Research and innovation partners interested in helping test how students discover, access, and use premium content as search, social media, and AI reshape the research journey.

Content Credits is currently exploring these models with the library community. Our goal is to learn where faster, point-of-discovery access can complement the resources libraries already provide.

Content Credits is looking for academic library and industry partners interested in exploring how students access authoritative content beyond their institution’s existing holdings.

A pilot can be designed around the questions that matter most to your institution, including:

• Access friction: What happens when students encounter valuable content they can’t immediately access?
• Speed to access: Can point-of-discovery access reduce the time and steps required to reach the content students need?
• Unmet demand: What publishers, topics, and types of content are students seeking outside existing institutional resources?
• Collection insights: Can real-world demand help inform future subscription, licensing, or acquisition decisions?
• Changing discovery habits: How are search, social media, and AI changing where students encounter authoritative information?

The goal isn’t to replace the tools libraries already use. It’s to learn where a faster, on-demand access option could fill gaps those tools weren’t designed to address.

Students are changing how they discover information. Search, social media, AI tools, citations, and publisher websites increasingly lead them to valuable content outside their institution’s existing resources.

We want to understand what happens next.

Content Credits is looking for academic libraries, universities, and industry partners interested in exploring faster, point-of-discovery access to authoritative content.

Together, we can study where students encounter access barriers, how often existing options meet their needs, and whether new article-level access models can complement the subscriptions, databases, interlibrary loan, and document delivery services libraries already provide.

The goal is simple: reduce friction for students while learning more about what content they actually need.

Fill out the form to start a conversation about participating in a research pilot.