Your KDP Select Books Can Now Reach Libraries

OverDrive, Hoopla, and more are finally open to you while staying exclusive to Amazon.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services I trust and believe will benefit authors.

“I can confirm that authors can distribute their Kindle eBook to public libraries during their KDP Select enrollment period. Authors do not need to contact Customer Support to confirm this is allowed.” - The KDP Team

Those are the words straight from the KDP Team. For the first time in KDP Select history, you can publish your Select-enrolled ebooks into public libraries.

That means OverDrive. That means Hoopla. That means tens of thousands of libraries around the world are now within reach. But let me be crystal clear: Amazon is not sending your books to libraries for you. This is on you as the author. You’ll need to take action through the right channels, and I’ll show you how.

And the best part? You can do this without leaving KDP Select. You can stay exclusive, keep your Kindle Unlimited audience, and still expand into libraries.

But here’s the part you need to hear. This isn’t a free-for-all. If you just blast your book out through the wrong distributor, you could land yourself in violation of your Select agreement. Think of this like handling a sharpened samurai sword. Powerful, yes, but dangerous if you swing it the wrong way. I’ll show you exactly where and how to do it safely, and which paths to avoid, because not every option is on the table.

And here’s the good news: it’s fast, it’s easy, and it could be worthwhile. You’ll see the options available, what royalties to expect, and just how quickly you can upload your books to libraries.

If you want to reach more readers and strengthen your publishing business, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for.

Background & Context

KDP Select is Amazon’s exclusivity program for ebooks. When you enroll a title, you agree that Amazon will be the only place readers can get that ebook for 90 days at a time. In exchange, your book is added to Kindle Unlimited, which is Amazon’s subscription service for readers. That means you can earn from two streams: regular ebook sales on Amazon, and royalties from pages read through Kindle Unlimited.

Select also comes with some perks. You can run Kindle Countdown Deals or Free Book Promotions, and those tools can help spike visibility or generate more readers. For many authors, that extra reach inside Amazon makes Select worth it.

But the catch has always been exclusivity. Once you enroll, you’ve been locked out of every other digital channel.

No Apple, no Kobo, no Google Play.

And until now, that lockout also included libraries. For more than a decade, if your ebook was in Select, libraries simply weren’t an option.

That’s why this change is so important. For the first time in the history of KDP Select, Amazon has confirmed that authors are allowed to distribute their Select-enrolled ebooks to public libraries.

You keep the benefits of exclusivity. You keep your Kindle Unlimited audience. And now, if you take action, you can also place your books into libraries worldwide.

At the time of this post, Amazon has not updated their Terms of Service. There’s no dashboard notification, and no email has gone out to account holders. The only confirmation comes directly from the KDP Team to me. That makes this a soft launch. Silent, but official. And that means you’re hearing it here first.

[UPDATE (Sept. 8, 2025): KDP updated their Help page to include this new change in KDP Select. Visit their help page here and search for “public libraries”.]

What This Change Means

Here’s what this change really means for you as an author.

First, exclusivity is still the rule inside KDP Select. Your ebook cannot be on Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, or any other retailer while it’s in Select. That has not changed.

What has changed is that libraries are now the exception. You can distribute your Select-enrolled ebooks to library systems like OverDrive, Hoopla, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Baker & Taylor, and more.

But Amazon isn’t doing that for you. You’ll have to publish your ebook to libraries through the right distributors, and I’ll show you which ones to use and which ones to avoid. Not every channel qualifies. If you publish through the wrong outlet, you could put your Select enrollment at risk.

So the bottom line is this: you get to keep everything you already had with KDP Select, including Kindle Unlimited readers, sales on Amazon, and access to promotional tools, while also opening up an entirely new distribution lane — public libraries. That means more reach, more discoverability, and potentially more royalties without leaving Select.

Options for Library Distribution

Now let’s look at where you can publish your Select-enrolled ebooks to libraries, and what royalties to expect.

The two best platforms are Draft2Digital and PublishDrive. Why these two? They let you choose the exact avenues for distribution. You can target libraries and exclude retail, which keeps you compliant with KDP Select.

Not every aggregator allows that. IngramSpark does not let you deselect retailers or isolate libraries. If you use them for this, you risk violating your Select agreement. Skip it.

Draft2Digital: How Library Payouts Work

Draft2Digital uses two payment structures at the same time, and both are on by default. OCOU is required for library distribution and cannot be disabled. CPC is on by default and you can turn it off.

• One Copy, One User (OCOU). Libraries buy access like they would a physical book. One purchase equals one concurrent borrower. If they want more simultaneous borrows, they purchase additional copies at the full purchase price. Your royalties are based on the library’s purchase price, with Draft2Digital’s distribution fee applied, which can vary depending on the partner.

• Cost Per Checkout (CPC). Libraries pay per loan at 1/10 of the purchase price. If your ebook price is $9.99, a typical CPC checkout bills the library about $0.99, then Draft2Digital’s distribution fee is applied, which can vary depending on the partner. This can unlock unlimited simultaneous checkouts and higher discoverability.

  • Note: Hoopla uses a tiered CPC model rather than a strict 1/10 rule.

You can see estimated royalties on the Publish page before you approve distribution.

Draft2Digital makes it dead simple to select Library Services without mistakenly selecting other retail and subscription service options.

PublishDrive: Pricing & Royalties

PublishDrive uses a subscription model. You pay a flat monthly fee for access and keep 100% of net royalties. Right now, they allow account holders to upload the first ebook free, which means you pay nothing to distribute your first ebook through PublishDrive, and you keep 100% of net. Check PublishDrive for the correct library choices available to you.

Who Answers Policy Questions

If you are unsure which specific library channels are allowed under KDP Select, ask KDP Support through the Contact Us link at the bottom of your KDP dashboard. You can even share the library list you plan to use and ask them to confirm.

When you’re logged into KDP, scroll to the bottom of your dashboard to select Contact Us for support. Ask KDP instead of anyone else; they have the answers.

Do NOT flood aggregator support with KDP policy questions. KDP is the authority that gave us permission to distribute to libraries, so take ambiguity to them.

Setting Expectations for Library Distribution

Library earnings usually start slow. This is a new lane for reach, credibility, and long-tail income. Give it time, keep sharing the library option with your audience, and let circulation build.

Why Draft2Digital

For simplicity, I’ll be showing Draft2Digital (in the video below). They have a dedicated Library Services section that makes it incredibly easy to target libraries while excluding retail channels.

To make the process even faster, download my free metadata sheet at DaleLinks.com/MetadataSheet. It’s a template where you can keep all the details about your book — title, subtitle, description, keywords, categories, and more. Once you’ve filled it out, you’ll always have everything ready to copy and paste into any publishing platform.

Rather than breaking it all down here, I’ll walk you through the process step by step in the video itself. That way, you can see exactly how it works in real time.

Watch the video here at the 8:32 mark:

A Brief, Very Relevant Interruption

I want to pause for just a moment, because if you found this helpful, I think you’ll love what I’m working on right now. I’ve put together the ultimate collection of my books on self-publishing into a special edition omnibus with gold foil covers and extras you won’t find anywhere else. It’s going live on Kickstarter September 30, and you can follow the campaign today at DaleLinks.com/KickstarterProject to make sure you don’t miss the early bird specials and exclusive deals.

And for those of you who’ve been waiting for it, this Kickstarter also includes the last chance to work with me one-on-one. I haven’t offered coaching in almost three years, and after this campaign I’m retiring from it completely to focus on my fiction career. If you’ve ever wanted direct coaching from me, this is it. There won’t be another opportunity.

The Bigger Picture for KDP Select

So what does this change really tell us?

For years, KDP Select has been an all-or-nothing deal. You got the perks of Kindle Unlimited, but the trade-off was strict exclusivity. No other retailers. No other subscription platforms. No libraries.

Meanwhile, services like Kobo Plus and Everand have offered subscription models without requiring exclusivity. You could enroll your ebook, tap into their audiences, and still keep your book available everywhere else. That flexibility has always made them attractive to wide authors.

Amazon is still keeping the exclusivity walls up, but this soft launch cracks the door a little wider. For the first time, they are letting authors inside Select also reach beyond Amazon, at least into libraries. It may not sound like much, but it is a major shift in philosophy. If libraries are now allowed, what could be next?

For now, it means Select authors do not have to feel boxed in. You can keep the power of Kindle Unlimited and Amazon promotions, while also gaining the reach and credibility that comes with libraries. It is the best of both worlds, something we never had before.

Final Thoughts

If you want to expand your publishing business even further, watch my video on the 10 Best Companies to Self Publish Ebooks. That’s where I break down the platforms every author should know.

And if you want a closer look at Draft2Digital, I also have a full review that walks through their features in detail. Both videos are waiting for you right here and right here. I’ll see you there.

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Sources:

• Amazon KDP – https://kdp.amazon.com

• Draft2Digital – https://DaleLinks.com/D2D (referral link)

• PublishDrive – https://DaleLinks.com/PublishDrive (affiliate link)

• My Metadata Sheet – https://DaleLinks.com/MetadataSheet

• 10 Best Places to Publish Ebooks (YouTube) – This video link

• Draft2Digital Review (YouTube) - This video link

Special Thanks for Additional Help:

• Sylvia Hubbard - https://sylviahubbard.com/

• Jeanne De Vita - https://book-genie.com/

• The KDP Team

• Draft2Digital