Amazon’s Entrance Into the Library Market
The impact on libraries, readers, and the publishing ecosystem
Introduction
Back in June, Amazon quietly announced their entrance into the library wholesale market, adding books to their list of services they provide to libraries. Only a few months later, the largest wholesale retailer for libraries—Baker & Taylor—announced their imminent closure. What impact will Amazon’s new endeavors have on the publishing world?
“Public libraries can now access curated book collections at competitive prices without adding complexity to their vendor management processes,” announces an Amazon Business press release dated June 27, 2025. In June (which, let’s be honest, feels decades ago at the rate this administration moves), the future of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was incredibly unclear, libraries across the country unsure whether they’d receive funding in 2026. Censorship was continuing to take place, with a judge in Texas ruling that censorship in libraries was not “really” censorship because they are actually houses for “government speech.” A famous author openly shared he utilizes AI (but claimed not in his most recent release). And the largest wholesale retailer to libraries, Baker & Taylor, was attempting to find a new owner—announcing a deal with ReaderLink in early September that by the end of the month not only fell through, but led the company to announce their imminent closure.
Amidst all this, Amazon decides to subtly enter yet another book industry—a company that doesn’t do anything without intention.
All of this screams “fishy” to us…but we’re not investigative journalists and we’re not in the business of misinformation. So instead, let’s zoom in on what we can assess: What Amazon’s entrance into this market means, the potential impact, and what readers can do.
A Deeper Look
Last month, we dove into the electronic world of libraries: where and how they get e-materials, and the problems with digital licensing. And just like with digital materials, libraries work with distributors for physical books, purchasing them at a wholesale price. There are a number of companies in this business aside from Baker & Taylor, including Ingram and Brodart. Many independent bookstores, as well as Barnes & Noble, also offer services.
Order sizes vary from library to library, and are especially dependent on the number of branches. The Columbus Public Library system recently posted a video sharing that they order 1,000 to 2,000 books a day that are distributed between all their branches. 90% of those orders came from Baker & Taylor…and now they, along with pretty much every other library system out there, are scrambling to find a distributor that can pick up such a huge load of work.
Baker & Taylor’s closure is not a surprise to many libraries, and many did (thankfully) have accounts open with other wholesale retailers because of increasing issues. The company was bought by a private investment firm in 2021, and in 2022 faced a huge cyberattack. And this year, their creditor announced their loans in default. Publishers even stopped sending the distributor books because they were not paying for them. When the company announced a sale to ReaderLink, the deal notably did not include outstanding debuts. Days after the deal was supposed to close, Baker & Taylor instead announced they would be shutting down by January, immediately laying off 500+ employees.
The impact on libraries was swift, and they’ll continue to feel a tremendous strain in the coming months, or however long it takes to fill the services Baker & Taylor provided. Despite there being other wholesale options, most do not or cannot provide all the services the company did. Ingram, for example, has made it clear that they are overwhelmed with orders, and are not accepting new clients for the time being. (They are working to increase their staff and resources to provide support going forward.) Independent bookstores aren’t the best suited to help academic libraries. And it’s not just ordering the books, but helping libraries bind them, process them, track and report, and plenty more.
As noted earlier, the timing couldn’t seem more opportune for a company like Amazon (or Barnes & Noble, for that matter)—and they are contacting and visiting libraries, seemingly hoping to fill that gap. But there are a lot of concerns with Amazon—not just in terms of what they can or can’t handle (Cathy, the Digital Buying Lead for the Columbus system, briefly mentions a bit about this in their video), but for ethical reasons.
Amazon’s attempts to monopolize the industries they are invested in obviously includes the book market. If they’re able to eliminate competitors by offering lower pricing and convenience, soon there will be no competitors at all, and they’ll be able to increase prices. While they’re offering libraries discounts that might be better than other distributors at the moment, what would happen if every library moved to Amazon, and the other distributors went out of business? What would prevent Amazon from increasing prices and putting even more strain on these public institutions? And that’s not even getting into the impact on the wider book industry if distributors shut down; public libraries, schools, and bookstores all order from these companies (typically different branches within).
We mentioned this in last month’s newsletter, but also concerning is the potential for Amazon’s control over what libraries may or may not be able to offer. In an era of censorship, a company run by a man who has capitulated to our current administration does not bode well for the freedom to read. If they are persuaded to no longer sell a book or demand changes before offering to distribute, that radiates throughout the industry, especially if there are no other distributors.
Ways to Respond
The biggest thing any of us can do right now is give our libraries grace. Not only are they scrambling to find a new distributor, but to fill previously placed orders Baker & Taylor will no longer fulfill and keep up with current demand. The new release you requested might not be available on release day; but do you know what will? So many other amazing stories offered by your library! Think of this time as a way to catch up on those backlist titles in your TBR. Spread the word, too. Many folks won’t be aware why resources are unavailable or why services are slower—so encourage those in your community to also be mindful.
We can also try talking to our librarians to learn more. Are they impacted by this closure? Do they have another distributor? Have they been contacted by or are they interested in exploring an account with Amazon? If you feel comfortable, let your library know (kindly, of course!) that you hope they don’t go with Amazon. Ask them if there’s anything your community can do to help so they don’t have to default on that option.
Final Musings
Through this all, remember this is not your library’s fault—in any single way! They are facing road block after block, from threatened funding to censorship to now their distributor’s shutdown. Kindness is powerful. We will make sure to share updates as they come, whether they be about Amazon’s involvement or other distributors’ services (follow us on Instagram for those).
We also can’t end this newsletter without encouraging everyone to contribute to their local food bank and/or mutual aid group amidst the expiration of SNAP benefits. To learn more, check out this post from Good Good Good:
We’ll be back in a few weeks with more. In the meantime, make sure to check out our reading-themed prints for a cause, free downloads (wallpapers, templates, and more), and our exclusive downloads for newsletter subscribers (with password newsletterdownloads). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, don’t hesitate to get in touch via email, the comments below, or Instagram DM.
Xx,
ad astra
I had ZERO idea about this library amazon thing. INSANITY.