BRIET is a web-based platform that enables the permanent sale of ebooks and other digital works to libraries and institutions, thereby protecting traditional library rights. It’s a project of The Brick House Cooperative, a collective of independent publishers founded in 2020 with a mission to defend historic library rights and press freedom. It's named after the pioneering librarian Suzanne Briet. We're also the cooperative team behind the Flaming Hydra newsletter.
This monorepo contains the code which runs our platforms (see below). We seek volunteer developers to help advance this work to strengthen “LEND LIKE PRINT” ebook practices. BRIET is built in open library catalog standards.
To get started, reach out here on our webform.
BRIET is several interwoven applications. For librarians and institutions, the key point is the Bookmarket, where approved customers can purchase ebooks, just like physical books. To be an approved customer, a library or institution must be a public signatory to the position statement on controlled digital lending (CDL).
On the tech side heading into 2026, our primary goal is to integrate e-commerce software into the Bookmarket so that approved customers can complete their own transactions. Please see the "help wanted" tag to get started.
Text content ⮕ PDF/EPUB
WordPress plugin, other CMSs to come
(not yet in scope)
PDF/EPUB ⮕ Bibligraphic Record
CMS for creators to prep, tag, and bundle their book strict metadata for library cataloging systems
Bibliographic Records ⮕ BookServer Feed
Ingests a tagger book collection with bibligraphic information and returns an OPDS BookServer feed (specifically, an ODL feed)
BookServer Feed ⮕ Librarian Bookmarket
Ingests an ODL/OPDS BookServer feed and returns a librarian-friendly marketplace website for local libraries to purchase and lend digital books the exact same way they have with old fashioned wooden books for centuries
(not yet scoped)
It is spelled ebook or ebooks. Not e-book, eBook, or e-Book. Ebook should be capititalized only when you would normally capitalize a word.
Don't know don't care, but we use loan. BRIET sells books to libraries, that they may be freely loaned to patrons.