Kindle now accommodates digital borrowing at over 11,000 public libraries

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 at 8:58 AM by Ben

Several months ago I reported that the Kindle was getting ready to accommodate digital book borrowing from public libraries. Well, today, an Amazon press release notes that digital borrowing is now officially underway.

The program is already in place at more than 11,000 public libraries around the US. There is no way to find out through Amazon if your library is a participant, and no way to borrow any books on Amazon’s own web site. However, you are encouraged to visit your own library’s site and look for new content about digital borrowing, as much of it is said to take place there:

Customers will use their local library’s website to search for and select a book to borrow. Once they choose a book, customers can choose to “Send to Kindle” and will be redirected to Amazon.com to login to their Amazon.com account and the book will be delivered to the device they select via Wi-Fi, or can be transferred via USB. Customers can check out a Kindle book from their local library and start reading on any generation Kindle device or free Kindle app for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry or Windows Phone, as well as in their web browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.

Fortunately for me, my local library is in Seattle, which is of course also Amazon’s headquarters, and as such is one of the first libraries to offer the program. Among the features offered, we are pointed to:

  • Whispersync technology wirelessly sync your books, notes, highlights, and last page read across Kindle and free Kindle reading apps
  • Real Page Numbers let you easily reference passages with page numbers that correspond to actual print editions
  • Facebook and Twitter integration makes it easy to share favorite passages with your social networks
  • Popular Highlights show you what our community of millions of Kindle readers think are the most interesting passages in your books
  • Public Notes allow you to share your notes and see what others are saying about Kindle books

Oh, and for an explanation of the Whispersync technology, Amazon’s Kindle Director Jay Marine says,

“Libraries are a critical part of our communities and we’re excited to be making Kindle books available at more than 11,000 local libraries around the country. We’re even doing a little extra here – normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we’re fixing this by extending our Whispersync technology to library books, so your notes, highlights and bookmarks are always backed up and available the next time you check out the book or if you decide to buy the book.”

So go to your local library’s web site and find out if they’re participating. And if you don’t have one already,

Find the Kindle at Amazon

Image: Bookster.NET

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