The day I saw the announcement that Kindle owners could now join the ranks of ebook device owners who were borrowing ebooks from their local libraries, I headed (well, via the internet) straight to my local library to see if it was so. The good news was that ebook borrowing WAS coming to my local library via my Kindle BUT Overdrive was still in the process of setting up the feature at libraries around the country and they didn't anticipate it would be available at my library until sometime in October. Bummer! However, I went ahead and let the rest of the family members in our "Kindle Family Group" know, in case their libraries already offered the service.
It wasn't long before my daughter-in-law emailed me to say that she had successfully borrowed a book electronically via her library in Texas. I was feeling a little left-out until I did the proverbial slap on the head and thought to myself, "Hey, I can just borrow a library book on my Nook." So I migrated back to my home library's website and noticed that there was now a graphic up there indicating the borrowing program for Kindle devices was apparently working. Oh, boy....that was only 2 days after my initial peek at their system.
I decided that I'd poke around the e-holdings to see what was available and try borrowing something just to see how hard or easy it was. Oh, my......I was amazed at how much was available. Many of the bestsellers were "checked out" but you could place an electronic hold on a copy. I know that library consortiums purchase licenses that dictate how many e-copies of a book can be checked out at one time. Therefore, it makes sense that there would be a wait for more popular titles. This might come as a surprise to some of you. Many of my friends have told me that they just assumed if it was an e-copy, that it could be checked out by an unlimited number of borrowers and there would never be a wait again for popular titles. Um.....wrong! The good news is that you can place a "hold" on an ebook and when a copy is available and you are next in line, they notify you to check it out.
I settled on "7 Personality Types" by Elizabeth Puttick. There was a copy available so I followed the steps to check it out (which were VERY self-explanatory) and then as a final step, it popped me over to Amazon's website where I had to check into my Amazon account and then tell it which Kindle to download it to. The final step was to walk over to my Kindle, turn on the wireless, and within seconds the book appeared on my Kindle. When I go up to my Amazon account again and click on "Manage My Kindle", the title is up there with the words "Public Library" next to it.
My library system has some video tutorials on how to use the Overdrive borrowing system but I found a great post on a fellow blogger's website this morning with two short videos that talk about borrowing on the Kindle and also how to return your library books early (if you finish before the borrowing period is up). Here is the link to The Digital Reader . Both videos were produced by libraries and should answer your questions.
I already have hundreds of books in my digital library and I've bought a good many of them. Others have been free courtesy of Amazon and generous authors. This new borrowing service opens up even more possibilities. I feel like a kid in a candy shop.....a sugar addict let loose in a bakery and even better, it's fat-free! Whee!
Incidentally, that personality book I checked out? It's probably the most accurate book I've ever read for nailing my personality and I've read a LOT of books on personality types, including many on the Myers-Briggs model and the Enneagram model. I'd highly recommend it. Why not see if your library has an e-book copy of it to borrow?
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