Is Amazon's Library Lending Feature for Kindle a Game Changer?
Is Amazon's Library Lending Feature for Kindle a Game Changer?
Posted 04/20/2011 at 6:41am
| by Paul Lilly
8
Comments
Print
Following the recent release of the ad-enabled Kindle with a $25 price cut, Amazon today announced yet another potential cost saving feature, Kindle Library Lending. Launching later this year, this feature will allow Kindle customers to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 libraries in the U.S. just as you would do with physical books. The new feature works with all Kindle devices, as well as Kindle reading apps, so even if you're not invested in the hardware, you can still 'check out' an eBook.
"We're excited that millions of Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from their local libraries," said Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. "Customers tell us they love Kindle for its Pearl e-ink display that is easy to read even in bright sunlight, up to a month of battery life, and Whispersync technology that synchronizes notes, highlights, and last page read between their Kindle and free Kindle apps.
"We're doing a little something extra here," Marine continued. "Normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we're extending our Whispersync technology so that you can highlight and add margin notes to Kindle books you check out from your local library. Your notes will not show up when the next patron checks out the book. But if you check out the book again, or subsequently buy it, your notes will be there just as you left them, perfectly Whispersynced."
Amazon stopped short of addressing a handful of obvious questions, such as how long users will be able to borrow books for, whether or not books can be re-borrowed multiple times (and how often), and which titles will be available through the Library Lending feature. But depending on how it's executed, this could turn out to be a huge advantage for Amazon in the eBook reader wars.
Image Credit: best-ereaders.com
More like this
8
Comments
Comments are closed on this article
Shadai
April 20, 2011 at 8:37pm
I've been borrowing ebooks from my library for the last year now on my nook.
Truely not what I'd call a "game changer". More like Amazon finally catching up. The fact you could already borrow books on the nook for so long was one of the best kept secrets for nook owners for the last year and half or however long the nook has been out. Seriously. You want 14.99 for that new book? Nah. I'll just borrow it from the library. For free. I don't need to own it. Just a week or two to read it.
And not just crap titles either. The website my library uses stocks all the bestsellers and more as soon as they hit the market. IE, if your ebook costs you more then 9.99, chances are good it'll be there to borrow for free. Since I refuse to pay more then 10 bucks for an ebook, its worked out nicely for me.
JohnP
April 20, 2011 at 11:51am
No. NOT a game changer. My library has had e-book lending for years now. It has a pathetic list of books available, most of them free in other parts of the web. "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Part V" anyone? There are exactly 1001 E-books currently available, the number of NYT bestsellers? Zero. In the library, there must be 150 times that much, along with all of the NYT bestsellers on the shelves. And this is a GREAT library with a good budget in a wealthy state.
Tenhawk
April 20, 2011 at 12:51pm
If Amazon is supplying the books, I highly DOUBT it'll be limited to PD books. Though I expect that Amazon will have to give pubilshers an option to opt out, otherwise they do stand the risk of losing a lot of people. I have a book published on Amazon called Thermals, so news like this tends to catch my eye, but aside from the gut check reaction to say "this is bad", which I think is probably a based on completely false assumption, I can't say how I feel about this.
Potentially is either very good or very bad for the ebook publishers... most likely, however, it'll be a nonissue and won't have any significant effect... at least not for some time.
I do want to know how they handle certain things... Traditionally libraries have had limited stock, for example, so if you wanted a book and it was out... maybe you went a bought it? If libraries now have unlimited stock, why would anyone buy a book? Also, will the libraries have to buy their copies of the ebooks? They have to buy paperback copies...
Lots of questions I'd like answered, but I'm tentatively optimistic anyway. After all, Amazon is a company, so they're going to be looking for some way to monetize this... and if they don't want publishers to pull out of their store they have to think of what's best all around.
JohnP
April 21, 2011 at 12:53pm
Nah, the libraries already HAVE books to lend out, and have had for years. The Kindle just did not have the firmware to download the books. Apparently, they soon will. Amazon has nothing to do with the libraries stock of e-books.
stoneyguy
April 20, 2011 at 8:39am
I wonder why your not sure if a book can be re-borrowed when you quote Jay Marine as saying, "Your notes will not show up when the next patron checks out the book. But if you check out the book again, or subsequently buy it, your notes will be there just as you left them, perfectly Whispersynced."
MrBlueCheese
April 20, 2011 at 11:30am
I think your confusing two things.
Barnes and Noble Nook (and Nook Color) have an option to "Lend" books to others. The problem with that is you can only do it once.
It seems that Amazon is trying to leverage a position that will allow eBooks from the "library" to be put on the Kindle. Just like you can with a regular library book, you can check it out as many times as you want.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Original RickRoll Video Returns to YouTube After 24-Hour Copyright Hiatus http://t.co/MaH9Sxyy12 hours 8 min ago
- maximumpc: Corsair has decided not to go forward with its $78 million IPO, citing weak equity market conditions http://t.co/A5a4DAzj12 hours 18 min ago
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E2 days 10 hours ago
