well crud, your comment is how I found out BPL is ending Hoopla services. I’m part of the 5% that uses Hoopla and BPL’s Hoopla catalog & borrowing limit was significantly better than my local mass library’s, including books used for school. Hoopla carries significantly MORE non-fiction ebooks than Libby, AND content that isn’t available/eligible for purchase to libraries through Libby. I knew the fallout from the loss of IMLS funding would impact ebook access disproportionately to other spending but I was hoping the service wouldn’t get yanked entirely.

That said, budgets are always the bottleneck. I manage the adult collection at a mid-sized library with a digital budget a little over $1 million, split between OverDrive/Libby and Hoopla. In OverDrive, the vast majority goes to keeping up with demand by buying down holds and re-purchasing expired licenses. Only a small slice, maybe 15–20%, is left for adding new titles each month. Hoopla works differently since it’s all cost-per-circ, which gives patrons more freedom to discover titles without me pre-selecting them.

We do buy digital self-published books, but not as often as print self-pub. For me, and per our collection development policy, purchases have to be based on clear criteria: patron demand, professional or media reviews, and a recent pub date, not just availability on a platform. If those reviews are there (and I often go digging for them) and patron interest is strong, I’ll add the title.
The bigger challenge is that self-publishing has exploded, but there’s still no consistent review system libraries can lean on. Reviews aren’t just for selection; they’re also how we show accountability. They help justify how we spend public funds and give us something to point to if a title is ever challenged. With traditional publishing, that framework is built in. With self-pub, only a fraction of titles get that kind of coverage, which makes it harder to put them on equal footing when budgets are tight.

So overall, KU availability is a win, but those titles will still be competing with the big houses for limited dollars. Hoopla’s cost-per-circ model already gives indie authors more visibility, and OverDrive/Libby has started experimenting with subscription-style catalogs where titles are available for unlimited checkouts for a year. If KU or self-published authors could get into something like that it would boost their visibility, generate circulation data, and help make the case for future purchases outside the subscription.

Same. My reaction to this is as a library patron is YAY– hopefully I get to access the books I love while continuing to boycott Amazon! The exclusivity thing drives me absolutely up the wall.

I also wanted to bring your attention to another option for self published authors that’s just getting established. There’s a startup company called Briet that wants to create a model to sell ebooks to libraries outright rather than relying on current licensing models. It’s relatively new but a more ethical model than what currently exists.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/98310-library-startup-briet-wants-to-revolutionize-e-book-sales-not-licensing.html

https://briet.app/