Amazon Offers Lending Library On The Kindle To Amazon Prime Subscribers

Today, Amazon announced a new twist on e-book reading: it has opened a lending library.

Members of Amazon Prime, their $79 annual subscription service, can now borrow one digital book per month on their Amazon Kindle devices, including the forthcoming Kindle Fire, chosen from a select list of "over 5,000 titles" according to the company's website.

Users can choose one title per month, and then keep that e-book on their Kindle for as long as they choose. If, however, they opt to borrow another e-book, the first title is deleted from the device. Any notes and highlighting made by the user will remain saved, and will be restored if the reader later purchases or again borrows the title in the future.

The service is only for Prime subscribers, and is not currently available to users of Kindle apps on smartphones and tablets.

Although Amazon claims that more than "100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers" are included in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, none of the six biggest publishers in America (Hachette, HarperCollins, MacMillan, Penguin, Random House, Simon and Schuster) are participating.

According to the Wall Street Journal, senior publishing executives are concerned that such a lending library would harm sales of their older titles or damage ties to other book retailers.

Those who are participating include children's publisher Scholastic, travel guide publisher Lonely Planet and specialist publisher F+W Media.

While Amazon is labeling this a "lending library," most commentators do not perceive it as a threat to the public library system, which has been offering its patrons the ability to loan Kindle titles since September, and other e-book devices for several months, via the OverDrive platform.

Instead, according to technology website CNET, this is yet another aggressive move in the battle over different e-book devices and formats, shortly before Barnes and Noble is expected to release a new Nook Color device in time for Christmas.

Comments

[gemini68]

01:35 PM on 11/04/2011

I already have this function via the public library. You can download e-books for free fro your local library. I simply download the app onto my smartphone and I take out between 2-4 books a month. For free. The only drawback is that there are limited copies of a lot of books so you will have to wait for popular titles, but I don't mind. And it sure beats paying $79 a month, AND not having access to major publishers.

[ChelleAgain]

02:29 PM on 11/04/2011

A lot of publishers don't allow library lending either. Speaking of either, it's not either/or -- you can do the library thing and the Amazon thing. The Amazon thing doesn't have a due date, which is nice.

[gemini68]

03:05 PM on 11/04/2011

True. And I have used the Prime (the other services offered through it) before but I don't think its worth $79 a year. As far as due dates go I don't mind.

[mairs]

02:39 PM on 11/04/2011

How do they have limited copies of ebooks??? Do the publishers license only a few to a library?

[ChelleAgain]

02:53 PM on 11/04/2011

They treat it like a physical copy in that for each license you can only have one person borrow at a time. Unlimited copies would give the pubs the sads. The more controversial aspect is wanting the library to pay for a new license after x amount of times borrowed, under the premise that physical books fall apart and so this equalizes that.

A library, I suppose, could buy as many licenses as they can afford.

[gemini68]

03:02 PM on 11/04/2011

Yes. Generally only 2-3 at the most. I think they do this to avoid pirating.

[mairs]

11:26 AM on 11/04/2011

The Lonely Planet travel guides are perfect for lending. Who really wants to keep their guides from past trips?

[Olderandwiser55]

02:11 PM on 11/04/2011

That is a good point. And they would be the updated versions.

[WriterInThePink]

10:41 AM on 11/04/2011

This is a great idea. I think if this is successful, it will really get e-books an edge. I'm partial to paper books because it's what I grew up with and right now, buying e-readers isn' affordable for me. However, I would lean towards buying a Kindle when I'm able to if they institute this lending program. I love the Prime Account and it has great features.

[gemini68]

01:37 PM on 11/04/2011

You can do this now via you local library if you have a smartphone, tablet or e-reader. I use the Overdrive app and just borrow e-books from the library. No fees at all.

[Olderandwiser55]

02:17 PM on 11/04/2011

The Kindles get cheaper and cheaper-the cheapest is now $79. I also buy used paper backs but have a Kindle as well. You have public library lending as mentioned but you also have many free classic novels as well as Indie authors. And I like the shared highlights on the kindle-it gives me the same feeling of shared readership.

[ChelleAgain]

02:27 PM on 11/04/2011

The $79 has special offers -- artsy black and white screen savers and several offers a month. Not everyone wants that, but it's great for people on a budget as many of the offers are for ebooks for $1 or something akin to that. That version can pay for itself pretty quickly.

[bryanzth]

10:12 AM on 11/04/2011

When I was looking at the B&N Nook, they mentioned that it was open to Public Library lending of books. You don't even have to go to the Library. And this makes sense more than buying an e-book. Just so we get the money to the AUTHORS. That to me needs to be more transparent. BZ.

[ChelleAgain]

02:23 PM on 11/04/2011

What are you saying? You can borrow library books on your Kindle also -- this is just an additional thing.

[bryanzth]

03:09 PM on 11/04/2011

I know, whatever tablet/reader you wanna use. But you see, my point was I tuned INTO the Nook/Kindle when I learned that library lending is being supported. That is, now they got my attention! As a matter of fact, I did get the motivation to call my library and spoke to the circ chief and well, it's all good. They think that this will not at all hurt libraries, but rather enhance and extend them, particularly in cases where library lending is needed, but maybe hard copy books still get mistreated or stolen. I remind you also of the OLPC project in many developing countries. Now, I know that their hardware has been dealt a blow by the new rush of tablets. It doesn't matter. It's the idea of getting content to learners.

But my last bit was, we have to put compensation to the authors in the design at the beginning rather than as an afterthought.

Now, to be serious, I am an Apple fanboy! I like iPad. I don't have one. But after that presentation of the Nook which showed us that it did 80% or more of what I wanted, and then one day if I can examine a Kindle Fire, I now know what I will buy next... one of 'em. Not sure yet. ;0)

Clean competition, not cheating. That is what will make this next step amazing.

BZ.

[gwhizz]

01:08 PM on 11/07/2011

You couldn't at the time I purchased my Nook. That was a huge factor in deciding between Kindle and Nook.

[Howard53545]

04:49 AM on 11/04/2011

Ok

[Bob Metcalfe]

01:03 AM on 11/04/2011

Great:
1. $ 6.50 approx to BORROW 1 book.
2. Only 12 books a year? I read 12 a month at least.
3. Doesn't seem to be available in my country.
So will I join? yeah - right.

[Jeremy Echols]

01:20 AM on 11/04/2011

Amazon Prime isn't just for books! The main reason for prime is free two-day shipping. If that has no value to you, so be it, but we'll be happy to get amazon books for "free" since we already planned on keeping our Prime membership for the foreseeable future.

[Olderandwiser55]

02:19 PM on 11/04/2011

And streaming video as well.

[x1cness]

04:32 AM on 11/08/2011

As you point out, this is simply an added benefit to Amazon Prime, so existing members are really getting a treat. For those people who are not members of Amazon Prime, then this may or may not motivate them to join.

[dzent1]

07:26 PM on 11/03/2011

Ooooh. One whole magnificent book a month. I'll stick with the massive, free and wonderful public domain collection of epubs from sites like Gutenburg etc.

[amd02148]

08:18 PM on 11/03/2011

Fanned/faved dzent. I can buy one book at month and spend less than seventy nine dollars.

[ChelleAgain]

09:33 PM on 11/03/2011

Of course you can. That's not the only feature of Prime. All the combined features still might not be an incentive, but it's only one thing on the list of, er, Potential Prime Perks.

[mairs]

11:39 AM on 11/04/2011

I've got a Prime account. This summer I bought a window air conditioner from Amazon and the shipping was free because I had Prime. If I had wanted to UPS a box that big, and weighing that much, it would be equivalent to a year's subscription to Prime right there. I love the free shipping.

[ChelleAgain]

09:05 PM on 11/03/2011

It's not either/or. :)

[frank day]

03:01 PM on 11/03/2011

I'm very excited about the Fire.

Amazon Prime will allow me to use it to stream movies.

A free book each month is another great bonus.

[Olderandwiser55]

09:52 PM on 11/03/2011

Yes, Frank, another reason to want the Fire. I can't until you get it-I'll live vicariously. :)

[Olderandwiser55]

10:05 PM on 11/03/2011

"wait until"...