How to Get Your Audiobook Into Libraries (OverDrive, Libby, Hoopla and More)

A lot of people never buy audiobooks. They borrow them. They open Libby or Hoopla, search for something to listen to on the drive home, and borrow whatever their library has.

If your audiobook isn't in those apps, those listeners will never find it.

The good news is that getting into libraries is easier than most authors assume. You don't need a publisher. The less good news: you can't upload to Libby yourself, the money is usually modest, and being available to libraries is not the same as libraries buying your book. This guide covers all three parts honestly.

This is one of our platform guides. For the full list of places you can publish an audiobook, start with  How to Publish an Audiobook .

The short answer

Indie authors get audiobooks into libraries through a distributor. You upload your audiobook to a distributor that supplies library platforms, such as Voices by INaudio (formerly Findaway Voices) or Author's Republic. The distributor sends it to OverDrive, Hoopla and other library marketplaces. Then libraries decide whether to add it, and their patrons borrow it through apps like Libby.

That last step is the one most guides skip. Distribution gets your book into the catalog librarians shop from. It doesn't put it on anyone's shelf.

OverDrive, Libby, Hoopla: who does what

These names get mixed up constantly, so here's the plain version.

OverDrive is the marketplace. Librarians browse it and buy or license ebooks and audiobooks for their collections. It's the biggest library supplier in the US and is used in many other countries too.

Libby is the app patrons use to borrow from OverDrive. When people say "I got it on Libby," the book came through OverDrive. You never upload to Libby. If your audiobook is in OverDrive and a library buys it, it shows up in Libby for that library's members.

Hoopla works differently. Libraries don't buy individual copies up front. Patrons borrow instantly from Hoopla's catalog, and the library pays each time a title is borrowed. For indie authors, this matters a lot: you don't need a librarian to pick your book. A patron just needs to find it.

There are other library platforms too, including BorrowBox (popular in the UK and Australia) and cloudLibrary. Which ones you reach depends on your distributor.

Can you upload directly to OverDrive?

Not really, if you're an indie author. OverDrive works with publishers and suppliers through formal distribution agreements. It doesn't have a self-serve upload page for individual authors, and Hoopla doesn't either.

What about Kobo? Kobo Writing Life has offered OverDrive library distribution for ebooks since 2017, with an opt-in in each title's Rights and Distribution settings. Whether that option covers audiobooks in your account is worth checking in your dashboard or with Kobo support. We couldn't confirm it from Kobo's own published material, so don't build your plan around it until you've seen it yourself.

For most authors, the distributor route is the one that works.

Distributors that reach libraries

The two names you'll see most often:

Both publish their current retailer and library lists, and both change them from time to time. Check the list before you sign up, especially if a specific platform like BorrowBox matters to you.

Which one should you pick? Honestly, for library distribution alone, the difference is small. Pick the one whose full retailer list best fits your plan, then compare royalty shares. If you're weighing a distributor against Audible, our  ACX vs Findaway Voices payout comparison  walks through the numbers.

One rule matters more than the choice itself: use one distributor per library platform. If you send the same audiobook to OverDrive through two distributors, you'll end up with duplicate listings, and fixing that is slow and annoying.

How library pricing works

Library pricing is not retail pricing, and this is where new authors leave money on the table.

Libraries pay under a few different models:

• One copy, one user. The library buys a copy, and one patron can borrow it at a time. Others join a waitlist.
• Metered access. The library's license runs out after a set number of loans or a set period, and it has to buy again.
• Cost per circulation. The library pays each time someone borrows the book. This is how Hoopla works.

Library prices are usually set well above retail, because one copy serves many listeners over time. A library paying several times your retail price for a single copy is normal, not greedy.

You usually set your library price through the distributor, separately from your retail price. Hoopla is the exception: its per-borrow rate is generally fixed through the distributor rather than set by you. If you're not sure what to charge, look at what similar-length audiobooks from indie authors in your genre cost on OverDrive, and land in that range.

Step by step: getting your audiobook into libraries

1. Check your rights. If you chose ACX exclusive, Audible holds the distribution rights for the exclusive term, and you can't send the audiobook to libraries elsewhere. Read  Audible exclusive vs wide  before you go further. If your narration came from a royalty-share deal, check that contract too.
2. Pick a distributor that lists the library platforms you care about.
3. Prepare your files. Chapter files, a square cover, credits and a retail sample. Your distributor publishes its own specs. Most are close to ACX's, so the  ACX Compliance Checker  is a good first pass.
4. Write library-friendly metadata. Librarians search by subject category, series and reading level. A vague category or a missing series number makes your book harder to find.
5. Set your library price separately from retail.
6. Select library channels in your distributor dashboard, and deselect any platform you already supply some other way.
7. Submit and wait for the distributor to validate the files and deliver them.
8. Search for your book on OverDrive's public catalog and on Hoopla a few weeks later. Check the cover, narrator credit and description.

What about AI-narrated audiobooks?

Library platforms get your audiobook through the distributor, so the distributor's policy is the one that decides whether an AI-narrated or voice-cloned audiobook can go out, and how it's labeled. Policies differ between distributors and change often. Check yours before you produce the audio, not after.

Our free  Where to Publish AI-Narrated Audiobooks workbook  covers which platforms take which kind of narration, and  Is voice cloning allowed for audiobooks?  covers the cloned-voice side.

How to get libraries to actually add your book

This is the part nobody can automate. A few things genuinely help:

Get readers to ask for it. Libraries buy what patrons request. In Libby, a patron can search for a title the library doesn't own and tap to say they'd like it. Many library websites also have a "suggest a purchase" form. Tell your newsletter readers this exists. Most of them have no idea.

Lean on Hoopla. Because Hoopla doesn't need a purchase decision, it's often the first place an indie audiobook actually gets borrowed. Make sure it's on.

Write a series. Libraries like series because one borrower tends to work through all of them. If book one does well, librarians notice.

Talk to your local library. Plenty of libraries like to support local authors. Ask in person, bring a one-page summary with the ISBN and where it's available, and don't be pushy about it.

Keep the metadata clean. A book with the wrong category, no series number or a blurry cover is easy for a librarian to skip.

Is it worth it?

For most indie authors, library income is a small slice of the total. We'd still say yes. It costs nothing to opt in through a distributor, it doesn't lock you into anything, and library listeners who like your book often go looking for the next one, borrowed or bought.

What we wouldn't do is skip libraries because of ACX exclusivity without at least running the numbers. The  Audiobook Profitability Calculator  is a quick way to compare.

Common questions

Can I upload my audiobook to Libby? No. Libby is the borrowing app. Your audiobook gets to Libby through OverDrive, and you reach OverDrive through a distributor.

How long does it take to show up? Delivery to the catalog can take a few weeks depending on the distributor. Library purchases are a separate step and can take much longer, or never happen. Hoopla doesn't need a purchase, so it's usually faster.

Do I get paid every time someone borrows my audiobook? On Hoopla, yes, because it pays per borrow. On OverDrive, you're usually paid when a library buys or renews a license, not for each loan.

Can I be in libraries and on Audible? Yes, as long as you chose non-exclusive distribution on ACX.

Do I need an ISBN? Many distributors and library platforms expect one. Some distributors can assign one for you. Check your distributor's requirements.

Make the audiobook first

Every library route starts with a finished audiobook. The  Narration Box Audiobook Creator  turns your manuscript into chapter-based narration you can edit paragraph by paragraph and export as MP3 or WAV, ready for your distributor. Want your own voice on it? Try  voice cloning for audiobooks .

Ready to plan the rest of your launch? Work through the  audiobook launch checklist for indie authors , read  how to sell your audiobook directly , or go back to  every place you can publish your audiobook .

Get started for free  or  view pricing .