Amazon Rolls Out Kindle Lending Program

Amazon

Want to write in the margins of your library books? No problem, now that you can check out books on a Kindle app. Amazon announced that starting today, more than 11,000 libraries will be able to loan out Kindle books to readers. The Kindle library books will include all the e-reader’s signature features, including Whispersync, which automatically syncs up any digital notes, bookmarks, or highlights you might make — and even cooler, all of your notes will be available the next time you check out that particular title.

You don’t need to have an actual Kindle device, although you do need an amazon.com account. Library books will be available via Kindle app for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry or Windows Phone, as well as in your web browser with Kindle Cloud Reader. Amazon lays out the whole borrowing process:

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.

Books will be deleted from your device once the lending period (typically two weeks) is over. While the new lending capabilities are pretty exciting, only a fraction of Amazon’s digital titles will be available through libraries. Plus, other devices have had library loan access for a while via the OverDrive app — but maybe without Amazon’s bells and whistles.

In any case, check your library’s website for availability and tell us about the selection! Amazon said earlier that there would be strict limits on what types of books would be available for library loan, but we’ll see if that changes.

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