OUR COMPETITOR
Jeff Bezos Jeff Bezos Jeff Bezos
WE ARE CREATING SPITE SOFTWARE.
The Opportunity
Dr Evil
DISRUPTING THE $1B BOOK SALES BUSINESS
OUR COMPETITION
BiblioCommons BiblioCommons BiblioCommons BiblioCommons
SEARCH MADE DIFFICULT
"A total visual nightmare" - Most Librarians
"I don't and won't use this." - Every Patron
The Result
35%
Drop in reference desk visits
Since 2012, fewer patrons seek help. They're not finding help elsewhere—they're giving up.
Source: Pew Research Center
Introducing
Scout
Scout
DISCOVERY LAYER FOR LIBRARY MATERIALS
Library Budgets
$408K
Average library tech budget per year
Libraries have real money to spend on technology solutions
Source: Library Journal 2024
Discovery Spend
$135K
Allocated to catalog & discovery software
About a third of the tech budget goes directly to what Scout replaces
Source: Library Journal 2024 (33% of tech budget)
Total Market
$1.2B
US library enterprise software spend
The total pie for library technology vendors annually
Source: Calculated from LJ 2024 data
Our Category
$200M+
Discovery layer segment
The specific market segment Scout is built for
Source: American Libraries Magazine 2024
Scout's Opportunity
$180M
Addressable market at Scout's pricing
Across 9,200 library systems in the United States
Source: IMLS PLS × Scout pricing
Customer Base
9,238
Library systems to sell to
Not branches—systems. One deal can mean multiple locations.
Source: IMLS FY 2022 Public Libraries Survey
Grant Funding
$266.7M
Federal library grants awarded in 2024
Libraries can write Scout into LSTA and IMLS grant applications
Source: IMLS Grants to States 2024
Price Advantage
BiblioCommons
$30K–$100K
vs
Scout
$10K–$40K
40–80% less for better discovery
And we have AI. They don't.
Source: Public library contract data
Scout Pricing Tiers
Small
$10K
<25K patrons
$0.40
per patron/year
Mid-Size
$13K
25K–75K patrons
$0.26
per patron/year
Large
$40K
75K–250K+ patrons
$0.25
per patron/year
Annual SaaS subscriptions
Competitive Landscape
Zero
Full-catalog LLM competitors for public libraries
OverDrive "Inspire Me" is digital-only. Ex Libris Primo is academic-focused. BiblioCommons has no AI.
Source: 2025 Library Systems Report
The Ask
$90K
To build proof of concept with 8 pilot partners
Introductions matter as much as funding. Know a library director? Let's talk.
The Untapped Market
330M
Americans who could benefit from library materials
0% know what's really available
Sources & References
Library Journal Budgets & Funding 2024
$408K avg tech budget, 33% to enterprise software, materials spending data
libraryjournal.com/story/a-complex-landscape-budgets-and-funding-2024
IMLS Public Libraries Survey (FY 2022)
9,238 library systems, collection expenditures, operating data
imls.gov/research-evaluation/surveys/public-libraries-survey-pls
IMLS Grants to States 2024
$266.7M in federal library grants awarded
imls.gov/find-funding/funding-opportunities/grants-to-states-overview
Pew Research: Library Usage & Engagement (2016)
35% decline in patrons seeking librarian help since 2012
pewresearch.org/internet/2016/09/09/library-usage-and-engagement
American Libraries Magazine: Library Systems Reports
ILS market landscape, vendor data, competitive analysis
americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2025/05/01/2025-library-systems-report
BiblioCommons Contract Data
Pricing from Richmond Public Library, Alameda County contracts
Richmond Public Library Contract (2023)
The Team
Drew
Product Manager, Reference Librarian
Kenny
UX Design, Circulation Librarian
Jordan
Book Worm, Back-end and Security
What We Need
Funding is nice, but introductions to librarians is preferred.
Also searching for help on the dev side.
If you code, let's chat.
Scout
www.searchwithscout.com