. OverDrive, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is a leading digital distributor of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and video to the public library marketplace. Using the OverDrive platform, library customers will be able to access ebooks that have been selected or leased by the local public library.
Amazon’s Kindle support for ebook lending has almost taken a back seat to the company’s Sept. 28 announcement of its All-New Kindle Family, including the long-anticipated tablet computer the Kindle Fire, a powerful full-featured tablet that will be a direct competitor to Apple’s iPad. At $199, the Kindle Fire offers the complete range of content with a brilliant color touchscreen. The next generation of Kindles will range in price from $79 up to the Kindle Fire at $199. Shipments of the new Kindle Fire will begin on Nov.15.
Support for ebook lending is a major departure for Amazon and is an important milestone for libraries. Previously, Amazon only sold ebooks and did not support ebook lending for libraries even though there has been significant demand from libraries. An LJ study last fall showed that three-fourths of public libraries offer ebooks to their users, and most of the remaining libraries plan to offer the ebook services. Ebooks are the fastest growing services. Amazon sells the Kindle, the bestselling ebook reader, and now millions of Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle ebooks from their local public libraries.
Libraries have been asking for Kindle support for months, and this long anticipated release is a welcome addition to most public libraries service offerings. Library users will use their public library’s traditional online catalog to identify an ebook title, and then link out to OverDrive, which then passes the library patron over to Amazon. Amazon supports the Kindle using the Amazon Kindle user site. The user is able to activate and download the ebook to the Kindle.
A Kindle Wi-Fi communication link makes the process smoother. The user is able to check out the ebook following the library’s lending rules. The ebook is downloaded to the Kindle and ready to read in minutes. Another good feature is that the library user is able to take advantage of the unique features of the Kindle including Amazon’s Whispersynctechnology, which synchronizes your books, notes, highlights, and last page read across Kindle and Kindle reading apps.
Public libraries of all sizes have been inundated with ebook requests. In Sonora, Calif., the Tuolumne County Public Library will soon be offering its library card holders the ability to download books because the Board of Supervisors recently signed a 4-year contract with OverDrive. Lubbock Public library is supporting its patrons as is the Salt Lake County Library System with its 18 libraries. OverDrive is rolling out the Kindle support program to more than 11,000 public libraries including the New York Public Library, one of the largest public libraries in the U.S.
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