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Publishing Map

Self-publishing · Libraries

How to get a self-published book into libraries

A self-published book reaches a library only if that library orders it. Draft2Digital, Kobo Writing Life, IngramSpark, and KDP each describe a catalog a library can buy from, and none of them says a library must buy. The Library of Congress will preassign a control number to an eligible U.S. self-publisher and says self-publishers are not eligible for Cataloging in Publication, checked 16 October 2026.

Publishing Map's take

A library has to order the book, and none of these services says it must. Use Draft2Digital or Kobo Writing Life when you want a library ebook catalog, IngramSpark wholesale for a print copy a library can order, and KDP Expanded Distribution only as a paperback offer.

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The short answer

  1. Draft2Digital's store list includes OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, Vivlio, and BorrowBox. The preorder overview also names Bibliotheca and Baker and Taylor. No library price is stated.[373][374][385]
  2. Kobo Writing Life lets you opt an ebook into OverDrive and set a USD library price. The pay is 50 percent of that price. A one-checkout option is 10 percent of the library price. Audiobook library distribution is not available.[386][387][388]
  3. IngramSpark says wholesale distribution makes the print book available to libraries as well as bookstores. A library still has to order it. The user guide says more than 40,000 retailers and libraries. The discount article says more than 45,000.[380][381][382]
  4. KDP Expanded Distribution is for paperbacks, not hardcovers. Enrollment is free and is not an order. The royalty is 40 percent of the channel list price minus printing costs, taxes, and withholding.[383]
  5. A U.S. self-publisher can request a Library of Congress control number in PrePub Book Link. The same Library says self-publishers are ineligible for Cataloging in Publication.[389][390]

01

Which library ebook channels does Draft2Digital list?

Checked 16 October 2026, the FAQ and the stores article list OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, Vivlio, and BorrowBox. The partners page names OverDrive, cloudLibrary, BorrowBox, and Hoopla, and it describes Hoopla as an immediate borrow and BorrowBox as digital loans. Those lines describe the services. They do not state a Draft2Digital library price or a lend limit. Library retailers often take the longest to list a book. No day count is given. Erotica, by BISAC or by flag, is excluded from public libraries through OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Hoopla, and BorrowBox. The preorder overview, modified 3 February 2025, also names Bibliotheca, OverDrive, and Baker and Taylor, up to 6 months ahead and only after a file is in. Bibliotheca and Baker and Taylor are not on the stores article checked the same day, so they are not treated here as the current store checklist. Do not mail unsolicited print copies to libraries. If a return comes back to Draft2Digital, you pay the shipping.[373][374][384][385]

  • The library list is a distribution choice. It is not an order from a library.
  • No Draft2Digital page checked here states a library price or a lending limit.

02

What does Kobo Writing Life state about OverDrive?

Kobo's OverDrive page, updated 18 September 2026, lets you opt an ebook in one title at a time and set a USD library price. Kobo says that price can and should differ from retail, and it recommends a few dollars higher. That is a recommendation, not a required markup. OverDrive rejects prices under 0.99 USD and public-domain content. The field opens at 0.99 USD. You are paid 50 percent of the USD library price, and the page states no aggregator fee. The earnings page, updated 21 November 2025, repeats the 50 percent and adds a cost-per-checkout option: a full-price library copy can be lent multiple times, and a library can pay 10 percent of the library price for one checkout. It does not say how many times the full-price copy can be lent. Sales appear on the monthly report and are paid with regular Kobo Writing Life payments. Listing can take up to a week. Any validation error blocks the title. The public OverDrive catalog may not show a book libraries can still buy. The audiobook FAQ, updated 18 September 2026, says library distribution for audiobooks is not available at this time.[386][387][388]

  • The 50 percent figure is a share of the library price you set, not of the retail price.
  • Ebook OverDrive and audiobook library distribution are different answers on Kobo's own pages.

03

What does IngramSpark state about print copies for libraries?

IngramSpark's FAQ says wholesale distribution makes the book available to bookstores, libraries, and online retailers. Listing can take 2 to 6 weeks, sometimes longer or shorter. The service is not exclusive. If the same print book is also on KDP, do not select Expanded Distribution. User guide 3.3, dated 24 August 2026, says more than 40,000 retailers and libraries, including Barnes and Noble and a local independent bookstore. The discount article, modified 20 November 2025, says more than 45,000. The counts do not match, and neither page says how many libraries will order. The article says libraries are not trying to sell the book, so you do not have to offer a high discount, and that metadata still has to catalog the book. It states no library discount percentage. The guide says 53 to 55 percent with a returnable status generally allows the widest retailer availability, and that no retailer is obliged to buy. It sets no separate library rate.[380][381][382]

  • 40,000 and 45,000 are the two figures the two IngramSpark pages use.
  • A catalog listing is not a library purchase order.

04

What does KDP state about Expanded Distribution to libraries?

KDP's Expanded Distribution page, checked 16 October 2026, offers paperbacks to distributors in the United States and the United Kingdom so booksellers and libraries can order them. Buyers elsewhere may order from those distributors. Enrollment is free. Hardcovers are not eligible. Acceptance is not guaranteed, and KDP cannot tell you which library bought a copy. The paperback must be on sale on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, with distribution rights in the matching country. The ISBN, yours or KDP's, must not already have been submitted through another service. Hebrew, Yiddish, and Japanese paperbacks are not eligible. Distributors may refuse some content, including public-domain books, and the page lists further categories. After acceptance, ordering can take up to eight weeks, and the same wait applies to later changes in details, content, or price. The royalty is 40 percent of the channel list price minus printing costs, applicable taxes, and withholding. Units update about 30 days after month end. Royalties are paid about 60 days after the month in which distributors report the sales. The page does not describe a lending model or a returns program. Removing the book from this channel does not, on this page, change your KDP account status or its availability on Amazon.[383]

  • Expanded Distribution can put a paperback in a distributor catalog. It does not place it on a library shelf.
  • No returns rule for this channel is stated on the Expanded Distribution page.

05

Who can get a Library of Congress control number, and who can get CIP?

The Library of Congress author guide says the Preassigned Control Number program assigns an LCCN in advance to titles that may be added to the Library's collections. A self-publisher must list a U.S. place of publication on the title page or copyright page and have a U.S. address, then open a PrePub Book Link account. The guide says creating that account is fast and simple. The publisher prints the control number in the book. An ISBN is not required. A 10-digit ISBN is no longer accepted, effective 20 May 2019. An LCCN is not an order from a public library. Cataloging in Publication is separate. The CIP publisher guide says self-publishers are ineligible and can instead open an author or self-publisher PCN account. CIP is for U.S. publishers whose titles are likely to be widely acquired. Each imprint needs at least three titles by three different authors, each held by at least 1,000 U.S. libraries in print or ebook. Staff check WorldCat. A title in one program cannot be submitted to the other. A change request waits until the request is closed complete, and only if the publication date is still in the future or no more than 60 days past. If staff ask a question, you have 7 days to answer before the request is cancelled.[389][390]

  • An LCCN helps cataloging. It is not a library sale.
  • CIP eligibility is a publisher test. The Library of Congress says self-publishers do not meet it.

Use the guided answer

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