You probably noticed that ebook library distribution was a hot topic in indie social feeds the last several weeks. A rumor that Amazon would allow authors enrolled in their exclusivity program, KDP Select, to distribute ebooks to libraries sounded too good to be true. After all, since the inception of KDP Select in 2011, authors who opted-in to the 90-day enrollment period could not sell their ebooks anywhere outside of Amazon, including all other retailers, author websites, and public libraries.

It turns out, however, that the rumor is true. On September 9, 2025, Amazon confirmed that library distribution is allowed for ebooks enrolled in KDP Select.

This is great news, because around the world there are millions of patrons who visit libraries or browse popular library apps every day. And because checking out books from libraries is free, patrons are more likely to try unfamiliar authors. If that weren’t enough, research consistently shows that library patrons are more voracious readers and are more likely to purchase books than non-library users.

Expand Your Library Reach W-I-D-E-R with D2D

As we like to say, to make your books findable, put them in all the places readers go to find books. Library services, such as the ones listed below, provide a catalog of available books to library staff. Each library then chooses which of those books to make available to their patrons. If you currently have ebooks enrolled in KDP Select, here are all the library platforms D2D can help you reach:

• Baker & Taylor: A longtime leader in library distribution, Baker & Taylor’s Boundless (formerly Axis 360) platform brings indie books to library patrons.
• BorrowBox: Widely used across the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, BorrowBox gives indie authors international exposure by delivering digital books directly to engaged library readers.
• cloudLibrary: Run by OCLC, distributes digital content to thousands of libraries, helping indie authors reach new readers who prefer a seamless borrowing experience.
• Hoopla: Known for its instant-borrow model with no waitlists, Hoopla helps make indie content more available to library users alongside mainstream content, boosting discoverability.
• Odilo: With a global footprint, Odilo powers digital library collections for schools, libraries, and other organizations, giving indie authors worldwide reach.
• OverDrive: The world’s largest digital library distributor, OverDrive connects your books with millions of library readers through its popular Libby app, making it a powerful channel for discovery.
• Palace Marketplace: Operated by the nonprofit Lyrasis, Palace Marketplace offers indie authors an opportunity to be discovered by US library readers through its vast catalog.

How to Distribute Your Ebooks to D2D’s Library Partners

1.     Log into your D2D account and click the orange “My Books” button.

2.     Select the book that you want distributed to D2D’s library partners, and then click the blue “Ebook” tab.

3.     For a newly uploaded ebook, you’ll need to complete the Details, Layout and Preview steps before moving onto the Publish step, where you’ll select where you want your ebook distributed. If the ebook you want distributed to library services is already in D2D’s system, you can skip directly to the Publish step.

4.     On the Publish step, you’ll have the option to opt-in or opt-out of ebook distribution to Digital Stores, Subscription Services, and Library Services. You can also set your prices during this step. If you have an ebook enrolled in KDP Select and you want to have it distributed to library services, you will have to deselect distribution to Digital Stores and Subscription Services.

Wide + Promo: We don’t just distribute. We help promote!

One of the key benefits of distributing your books widely through Draft2Digital includes free promotions to the merchandising managers at global retail and library platforms. Simply by logging into your D2D account and filling out the Promotions Form, we’ll keep you abreast of upcoming merchandising opportunities that may pertain to you and your genre. But don’t wait for us to tell you about new and upcoming merchandising opportunities, if you have an idea that you think library patrons (or retail customers) would love, tell us!

For more information on how to work with D2D’s promotions team, check out this blog post or watch this Ask Us Anything episode on our Self Publishing Insiders YouTube channel.

Are D2D Promotions effective? Very. So far in 2025, D2D’s promo team has received over 30 merchandising invitations from our global retail and library partners and successfully placed 9,034 titles out of 15,946 author submissions. That’s almost 60%! And this figure doesn’t include the many one-off, unpublicized direct requests from our partners, nor does it factor in the many merchandising features we manage at the Smashwords store.

One final, key piece of advice: Pay attention to the date your Amazon KDP Select enrollment period ends. If you don't manually opt-out your books will be automatically enrolled for another 90-day period. We want to promote YOUR books far and wide, beyond libraries, but we can’t do it if they’re exclusive to Amazon.