Amazon intros Library Lending feature for Kindle, apps
updated 11:00 am EDT, Wed April 20, 2011
Amazon to bring Kindle books to US libraries
Amazon on Wednesday announced users of its Kindle e-book reader and those with the Kindle app on other devices will now get the ability to borrow Kindle books from more than 11,000 libraries in the US. Called simply Kindle Library Lending, the feature will arrive later this year. It will allow for Whispersyncing of notes, highlighting pages, and marking the last page read, even for titles that were returned but lent out once again.
This expands on the Kindle's current ability to lend books between devices or apps. The service is provided by OverDrive, which provides digital content in the same libraries and used for Sony's similar e-book lending feature.
Libraries have often pushed for digital lending to remain relevant but have faced resistance from publishers that either don't want the practice at all or want to limit the number of times a reader can borrow before they have to buy the title.
