Purpose: To share the experiences and challenges faced by the Open University Library (OUL) in developing a content management (CM) system for its subject guides. Design/methodology/approach: A summary of multi-format subject guide production at the OUL is provided to justify the decision to develop a new system for their production using a commercial CM system. A detailed consideration of the design and implementation stages is given before a critical review of the project outcome. Findings: Highlights the complex design and implementation aspects to the project, in part due to the nature of subject guide content itself, and examines the reasons for the CM system delivered not being adopted. Emphasises the importance of CM to future OU applications. Practical implications: Of interest not only to other academic libraries but to any organisation seeking to organise and publish original material for different audiences in a variety of formats from a single data source. Originality/value: This paper is the first to document a systematic approach to library subject guide production using a CM system and the associated information management challenges and realities of multi-format publishing in an academic publishing context.