According to the American Library Association there are nearly 117,000 libraries in the United States. If you are considering self-publishing, that number should make you salivate.
Libraries are not only a huge market, they are frequently an untapped one for self-publishers. Unfortunately, libraries usually order books from their own distributors, which means approaching them directly to purchase your self-published book may be an uphill battle.
Don't despair. Self-published authors have several options for getting their books into libraries.
1) Smashwords - If you publish through Draft2Digital (formerly Smashwords), your book will be available to libraries through OverDrive (world's largest library ebook platform serving 20,000+ libraries), Baker & Taylor Axis 360, Tolino, Gardners (Askews & Holts and Browns Books for Students), and Odilo (2,100 public libraries in North America, South America and Europe).
2) Indie Author Project - The Indie Author Project (IAP) is a publishing community that includes public libraries, authors, curators, and readers working together to connect library patrons with great indie-published books. IAP has helped hundreds of libraries engage their local creative community and assisted in getting more than 12,000 indie authors into their local libraries. Most importantly, the project has worked with top curation partners and librarians to identify hundreds of these as the best indie eBooks available to readers—so they can be sustainably circulated to library patrons with confidence.
Through this publishing community, authors are able to submit eBooks directly to their local public library to then be vetted by industry editorial partners and regional library editorial boards. Being selected by these curators can lead to expanded discovery, distribution, and networking opportunities.
3) Book Reviews - Librarians order books largely based on reviews. Getting a review into one of these magazines will provide you with maximum exposure.
- Booklist - Circulation: 80,000 print; 160,000 online
- Library Journal - Circulation: 100,000
- Publishers Weekly - Self-published books can be submitted for review through Book Life.
- School Library Journal - Youth titles only.
5) Direct marketing - This works for print books. Walk into your local library and ask them to order your book. While you're at it, offer to do a reading.
Helpful resources (Read these articles!):
The Library Market: What Indie Authors Need to Know
Getting Indie Authors Into Libraries - An Interview with Mitchell Davis of BiblioBoard
Top 25 Librarian Bloggers (By the Numbers)
