VLB - Your Basis for Successful Bookselling

Verzeichnis Lieferbarer Bücher (VLB) is one of the largest professional bibliographic databases and up-to-date sources of trade information on books.

For publishers and booksellers alike, it provides indispensable services for the distribution of information on books throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For publishers, it is the ultimate marketing tool for wide distribution of metadata on their titles. For booksellers, it is the primary source of information on all titles published in the German-speaking world.

With nearly 2.5 Mio. titles from more than 21.000 publishing houses the database is one of the central marketing and communication tools for the book trading industry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. More than 3.500 bookstores use the VLB database as their main information about available books. As data hub for the German-speaking book industry it is the central research platform and one of the most important and complete databases of its kind. It contains almost all available German language publications, including information on eBooks, audiobooks, software and calendars. With the additional option “Archived data”, you can search through a further 3.6 million titles that have been reported out of print since 1988. This gives you a comprehensive overview of the titles in the industry.

The VLB Database offers complete bibliographic data and additional information, such as cover pictures, content details or information about target groups.

Publishers can use the VLB data either through the web application www.vlb.de or by supplying the ONIX data of their titles. More than 1.000 quality checks and plausibilities provide high quality standards and ensure good data quality throughout the German book market. The VLB enables publishers to distribute reliable information to sell books successfully.

More information on VLB for publishers

Booksellers have three ways of using the VLB database. They can use the web application www.vlb.de or integrate it via API into their merchandise management system. The third option is to import the data directly into their databases via FTP.

Many online shops work with the VLB data and use it as the basis for their bookselling. In this way, booksellers are able to provide their customers with information on all books printed in German and increase their book sales.

More information on VLB for booksellers

The data provided by VLB is also used by book wholesalers in order to get all the information they need for stocking and handling their orders.

As a software provider, you have the possibility to connect VLB data to your own software solutions. That way your customers can, if they have an existing VLB subscription, access VLB directly from there product to the bibliography and order processing.

Also, in webshop solutions, the VLB data can be integrated as data basis via the VLB web interface. The requirement for this is that your customers have concluded a contract for the use of VLB data in the webshop.

Both solutions provide you with an efficient web interface based on REST technology.

For the implementation of the VLB connection, you can receive free access to the VLB web interface. We will gladly send you the API license agreement for software providers as well as the technical specification.

More information on VLB for service providers