Despite their somewhat stuffy image, libraries have generally embraced new technology, with public Internet access and library catalogs stored on computer databases the norm. The ability to search a catalog online means we no longer have to traipse down to the local library to see if a book we're after is available or not. Now bookworms won't even have to physically go to the library to actually borrow a book with the news that more than 11,000 local libraries in the U.S. are set to lend eBooks that can be viewed on Kindle eReaders and devices running the Kindle app.
To borrow an eBook, all you'll need is a library card - which I hope you already have - and an Amazon account - which if you have a Kindle, you probably already have. Head to your local library's website, find the book you're after and select "Send to Kindle" to check out the book. This will redirect you to Amazon.com where you'll need to log into your account, whereupon the book can be downloaded to your device via W-Fi or transferred via USB - there's no 3G support.
Borrowed books, which won't just include out-of-copyright works like a similar Kindle book borrowing service at the British library, will function just like any Kindle eBook. Facebook and Twitter integration will work, while notes, highlights, bookmarks and last page read will synch across devices with Whispersync and remain backed up if you decide to borrow the book again at a later date or buy it. Aside from the ability to scribble notes in books to your heart's content without fear of recrimination, borrowing eBooks also means no more late fees for books you've misplaced.
The library lending system is powered by Overdrive, a distributor of digital content to 15,000 public and school libraries worldwide. More than 11,000 of these are in the U.S., which are seeing the rollout of the new service in BETA now. To see if your local library is one of them you can do a search here.
It is a hide and seek game too. With a hard copy you know if it is there or not: you walk down the line and what you touch you can (usually) borrow or at least read on the spot. E-copy is like a Schroedinger cat: it is there and it is not at the same time, you have to measure/inquire to find out. (Than you put yourself down for half-a-year waiting.)
The whole ecosystem of books/reading changes: no cheap library discards or charity books any longer. You will have to buy the old ones as \"completely new e-copies\" for full kindle price. (A completely new e-copy sounds somewhat ridiculous anyway.) You accumulated a library of e-books? Bad luck. After you expire your library will too. It will evaporate with errasure of your Kindle account. No \"wisdom of ages\" down family lines. [Literally] Vaporware.
Here\'s the final score though: almost every book you can think of is downloadable as an open PDF using file sharing software (I know this because I hate loosing arguments, and in the face of astounding evidence I was once forced to concede this point to a friend) and the only thing that keeps people buying books is a love of paper, good formatting, and a certain desire to be patrons of the arts (and a certain well placed mistrust of the kind of web site that lets you download this type of content).
However, the desire to be slaves to big publishing houses and to the paranoid ideas of the few still clinging madly to the idea that allowing digital copies of their work to exist will suddenly cause nice little bookshops to dry up is rapidly waning in the younger population, and I imagine that in only another year or two many of the books that have traditionally been problems (cult classics, textbooks, or special editions of public domain works) will either be thriving in new ecosystems, or taken over by the grey market domain. In the same way, DRM is only feasible in something so complex that a teenager with some spare time can\'t permanently disable it - something that books will never be (and never need to be). Instead, publishers and content providers need to work together to push better delivery systems (like the one in this article, or like Google Books/Market) and help guide readers to more content they like.
My only objection to e-books is often paying as much or almost for an electronic copy that can\'t be sold or lent without restrictions or given away. I am willing to pay a smaller sum for convenience, but if I have to pay the equivalent of a hard copy, I want something to hold.
I understand that writing and editing takes time, effort and talent and I certainly do not mind paying for that. Or when cheapness or budget reins, I have a library card and I use it. But it seems that charging the same as a physical copy greatly benefits only the publisher.
For newer books there is a waiting list, just like with the hard copies. However, with books a few years out from publication, I can find thousands of titles. At the end of the check out period the title expires. It is so easy. I love it.