Libraries which lend ebooks

Downloadable eBooks are readable in Adobe Digital Editions and some other software applications. You can borrow ten books at a time from Open Library.

When loans expire the books will be disabled on your device. If you borrowed a BookReader edition, simply return it from your Loans page. If you downloaded another type of ebook, you can return it if you borrowed it through Adobe Digital Editions for all versions except the iPad version.

If you checked out your book with other software like Bluefire Reader, you will not be able to return your book early. In Adobe Digital Editions, look for your "library". That's the book spines icon in the top left corner of the application 1. Once you're in your library, click on the menu for the book you'd like to return which is behind the tiny triangle that appears by the book cover 2 and select "Return Borrowed Item" from the menu 3.

This image will show you where to look. You may also be able to right-click on your item and select "Return Borrowed Item" from the contextual menu. Here is a screenshot of this option. If you used other software to access your book, you can't return it early but the item will be automatically returned at the end of the loan period.

There is a waiting list feature. If you see a book that is checked out, you have an option to add yourself to a waiting list for that book. When the book is returned and available, you will get an email. You then have 24 hours to check the book out.

If you do not check out the book before the 24 hours is up, it will be made available to the next person on the list. You can download Adobe Digital Editions from adobe. It's free. If you use other ebook reader software it must be Adobe compliant and you will still need an Adobe ID. You can get one online here. An older version of Adobe Digital Editions can be found at this link.

The first time you run Adobe Digital Editions, it will prompt you for authorization. This is completely optional and is not linked to your Open Library ID. Libraries now pay OverDrive and its peers for a wide range of digital services, from negotiating prices with publishers to managing an increasingly complex system of digital rights.

Alan Inouye, the senior public-policy director at the American Library Association, told me that consolidation could reduce competition and potentially drive the cost of library e-books even higher. Amazon did not make its own e-books available to libraries until May, when it announced a deal with the Digital Public Library of America. To illustrate the economics of e-book lending, the N. Taken together, these digital rights cost about as much as three thousand copies of the consumer e-book, which sells for about eighteen dollars per copy.

Several librarians told me that they monitor hold requests, including for books that have not yet been released, to decide how many licenses to acquire. The high prices of e-book rights could become untenable for libraries in the long run, according to several librarians and advocates I spoke to—libraries, venders, and publishers will probably need to negotiate a new way forward.

Readers of the future are likely to want even more digital content, but it may not look the same as it does now. Audible, which is owned by Amazon, has already made listening to books more like streaming, with subscribers gaining access to a shifting catalogue of audiobooks that they do not need to buy separately. Maybe readers will expect books to feel more like Web sites, and an infinite scroll will replace the turn of the page, as it has in the digital magazine you are reading now.

Perhaps readers will want images and videos to be woven seamlessly into the text, requiring a new format. Lending libraries were once an innovation that helped spread literacy and popularize books. Roncevic wants libraries to continue innovating—for example, by experimenting with new formats and license models in partnership with independent or international publishers.

Andrew Medlar, a longtime librarian who now serves as the N. He said that I was, but also told me not to worry. Remembering the murder you did not commit. The repressive, authoritarian soul of Thomas the Tank Engine. The mystery of people who speak dozens of languages. Margaret Atwood, the prophet of dystopia. The many faces of women who identify as witches. Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker.

Daniel A. What kinds of books can you expect to find? Here's the rub: Just like at the actual library, the selection may be somewhat limited, and you may have to wait to check out the book s you want.

That's because, just like at the actual library, there are limited numbers of each title available for checkout. Read more: 10 ways to read books online for free. Hopefully the waiting list won't be too long for the e-book s you want to borrow from your library.

With Hamilton, for example, I had to get on a waiting list with OverDrive the book isn't currently available from Hoopla. That's because, at my library, only 11 digital copies are available, and 17 people are currently interested in borrowing it. Thankfully, OverDrive will alert you when a title on your Holds list becomes available, and you can even set it to automatically check out the book once that happens.

We've been seeing diminished Kindle compatibility with OverDrive recently, possibly due to the fact that it and Kobo are now owned by rival Rakuten. It's available for Android and iOS , and you can use it to find, reserve and check out books. Read more: This browser extension shows you which Amazon books are available free at your local library. Once a book is checked out, you usually have two to three weeks before it must be "returned," which happens automatically once the return date hits.

At that point, the digital copy expires, meaning you can no longer access it -- unless you check it out again. Take note, however, that you might end up at the bottom of the waiting list again. Hoopla works similarly, except there's no option for reading on Kindle. Instead you have to use the Hoopla app.