Amazon and OverDrive Roll Out Kindle Books to Libraries
By Michael Kelley(This story was updated from an earlier version to include the video from King County Public Library System)
Amazon and OverDrive, the Cleveland-based company that is the major distributor of ebooks to the library market, announced today that more than 11,000 U.S. public and school libraries in the OverDrive network should have compatibility with Amazon's Kindle ereader within days. The long-awaited rollout, first announced in April, will end the notable absence of the popular Kindle device from library ebook lending.
The launch comes one day after news broke that Amazon had begun beta testing its Kindle Library Lending program at the Seattle Public Library and the King County Public Library System, WA.
"Libraries are a critical part of our communities, and we're excited to be making Kindle books available at more than 11,000 local libraries around the country," Jay Marine, the director of Amazon Kindle, said in a press release.
Checkout process
On the OverDrive digital library blog, the description of the download process mirrored what was posted earlier this week on Amazon's site:
- Visit your library's 'Virtual Branch' website
- Browse and check out a Kindle book.
- Click the 'Get for Kindle' button. This opens the Amazon.com website. You may be required to sign in with your Amazon.com account if you are not already logged in.
- Select a Kindle device or Kindle reading app. Click the 'Get library book' button and sync your device or app to download the book, or choose to send it to your device via USB.
- An active Wi-Fi connection is required for wireless delivery to a Kindle device. If the Kindle is not Wi-Fi capable or you do not have an active Wi-Fi connection, read Amazon's instructions for transferring files via USB. The books are not delivered via Kindle's 3G connection.
As part of the update to support Kindle compatibility, OverDrive will also revise help pages and FAQs on library websites to help Kindle users.
"The download process is easy-to-follow, easy-to-explain, and very well integrated into the wider OverDrive checkout process," said David Wasserman, online services coordinator for King County Library System.
Not all titles available
Libraries are not being charged extra for the updated service, but Wasserman reported that at King County there were gaps in the Kindle offerings.
"We're seeing a large percentage of titles, but not quite everything, that KCLS previously purchased from OverDrive [has been] made available for checkout to Kindle users," he said. And on its blog, OverDrive acknowledges that the update allows "most" (but not all) ebooks in a library's collection to be read on all Kindle devices or by using free Kindle apps or the Kindle Cloud reader.
Wasserman said there is no "overt" option for individuals to buy titles from either company during the process.
However, Brier Dudley, a technology and business blogger for the Seattle Times who checked out a book to his Kindle from Seattle Public Library, noted that "at the last page of the checkout process, the bottom half of your PC screen is filled with pitches to buy various books related to the one you're checking out and others based on your history with the company."
Dudley illustrated the checkout process with a photo guide. King County had a useful video on its site Tuesday illustrating the process but took it down at the request of Amazon after LJ posted the video. The video was subsequently reposted on Wednesday, September 22:
Holds expected to skyrocket
Wasserman said that the library had yet to experience holds fulfillment with the Kindle, but that it is integrated into the wider OverDrive process. This is likely to become an issue since demand is expected to skyrocket with the introduction of the Kindle, but libraries will not be able to afford to license access to enough Kindle copies to meet demand.
For example, at the Brooklyn Public Library website 104 patrons had holds on The Help by Kathyrn Stockett, but only 15 copies were available (either as a Kindle version, Adobe EPUB ebook, or an Adobe PDF ebook). These numbers will only grow as patrons become aware of Kindle access.
OverDrive CEO Steve Potash said at Digipalooza in July that he expects ebook circulation in OverDrive to increase 100 percent in the wake of Kindle loaning.
Some publishers, including Macmillan and Simon & Schuster, still do not allow libraries to lend their e-books, and HarperCollins has limited its titles to 26 circulations. The Kindle lending will not change any of that.
Patrons checking out Kindle books will be able to use Amazon's Whispersync technology so that they can highlight and add margin notes to Kindle books they check out. The notes will not show up when the next patron checks out the book. But if the patron checks out the book again, or subsequently buys it, the notes will be there.
"We're even doing a little extra here — normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no," said Amazon's Marine. "But we're fixing this by extending our Whispersync technology to library books, so your notes, highlights, and bookmarks are always backed up and available the next time you check out the book or if you decide to buy the book," he said.
This feature has caused some privacy concerns among librarians.
Other features that Kindle will enable for library patrons include:
- Real page numbers that reference passages with page numbers that correspond to print editions;
- Facebook and Twitter integration;
- Popular highlights that show what other Kindle readers think are the most interesting passages in a checked out book;
- Public notes that allow the sharing of notes so a patron can see what others are saying about the book.
"Kindle compatibility greatly improves access to public library ebook collections and we look forward to seeing it rolled out at libraries across the country," said King County's Wasserman.
