? about Kindle

[Kathi OD]

OK, so SIL and I have been thinking about the Kindle. Can you get e-books from a public library on them? How would this work?

thanks!

 

[Buckalew11]

No, but you can on a Nook or a Sony e reader.


Amazon does have a lot of free books I am told but getting books from a public library on a Nook is easy. That's why I went with the Nook.

 

[DVCLiz]

OK, so SIL and I have been thinking about the Kindle. Can you get e-books from a public library on them? How would this work?

thanks!

No, but you can on a Nook or a Sony e reader.


Amazon does have a lot of free books I am told but getting books from a public library on a Nook is easy. That's why I went with the Nook.

Like Buckalew said, the Nook and Sony can download books from the library, and the Kindle can't. Check to make sure your library has ebooks - or join another library like the Free Library of Philadephia, which offers a $15 membership - and check to see if the titles are ones you want to read.

But, remember that Amazon has loads of free boooks as well. And, if you and your SIL are on the same Amazon account, any book you have can be downloaded to her Kindle and vice versa. If you buy a bestseller she will be able to read it at the same time on her Kindle.

Check the bookstore of both Amazon and B&N to see how the pricing and availability is before you decide.

 

[Kathi OD]

thanks for your replies.

Both of us live in counties that have e-books available from our libraries. I didn't know about the Philadelphia Library. That might be yet another option!

 

[TDC Nala]

I have a Sony. While there are a good many e-books available from the local library the selection is not particularly extensive. But they are free.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

We were going to try the Nook, but when we looked at the titles available from libraries, we decided that this did not provide enough of an advantage to outweigh the many other ways in which the Kindle was superior.

My advice - actually check on the titles available before you decide that this option is the decision maker for you.

 

[RitaE]

Our library has eBooks but the wait lists are getting terrible. A pre-order for the new Scarpetta book went live last week and within hours it was over 20 people long. If they don't add additional copies and all those people keep the book for 2 to 3 weeks each, it would be over a year to get the book.

With the explosion of people buying digital readers I suspect it is going to get much worse before it gets better. Libraries just don't have the funds right now to be buying more eBook licenses.

 

[LoraJ]

The Kindle has lots of free books available for it. You can go to amazon.com to check their selection. Not the same as a library book, but just a suggestion.

 

[cruisnfamily]

The Kindle has lots of free books available for it. You can go to amazon.com to check their selection. Not the same as a library book, but just a suggestion.

The problem with the "lots of free books available' is that they are not bestsellers. They are not necessarily books you want to read. If you want your choice of free books, you need the nook so you can do library books.

 

[cc1013]

The problem with the "lots of free books available' is that they are not bestsellers. They are not necessarily books you want to read. If you want your choice of free books, you need the nook so you can do library books.

I have found some great authors through the Kindle free books that I otherwise wouldn't have purchased. The free books have led to me buying more books by those authors. Sometimes, there are historical bestsellers on the list as well.

 

[DVCLiz]

Our library has eBooks but the wait lists are getting terrible. A pre-order for the new Scarpetta book went live last week and within hours it was over 20 people long. If they don't add additional copies and all those people keep the book for 2 to 3 weeks each, it would be over a year to get the book.

With the explosion of people buying digital readers I suspect it is going to get much worse before it gets better. Libraries just don't have the funds right now to be buying more eBook licenses.

I wonder how long libraries like Philadephia's are going to be willing to share ebook resources with people outside the geographic service area. You know if they can't keep up with the demand by their local taxpayers it would seem they would have to restrict all those $15 memberships they are offering.

Personally, if I wanted to minimize the amount of money I spent I'd get a Kindle (my preference!) or a Nook and make friends with people who bought some of the current bestsellers - and then I would see if they would lend to me if I bought some titles and loaned to them. That would be a much more efficient way of getting newer books more cheaply.

But I am the ereader customer who purchased for convenience, not cost savings. I will never be happy waiting for a book and being told I have to read it in a certain timeframe. It's well worth the ten dollars to have total access to a book on my time schedule.

 

[Imzadi]

thanks for your replies.

Both of us live in counties that have e-books available from our libraries. I didn't know about the Philadelphia Library. That might be yet another option!

If you have a relative who lives in NYS, they can get a library card from the NY Public Library. Each member is allowed to check out 12 eBooks/audiobooks at a time. Perhaps, if they aren't going to be checking out that many eBooks at once, and are willing to share their library card number with you, you can download some eBooks. The eBooks are "returned" automatically on the due date, so they never have to worry about you racking up overdue fines. There are over 15,000 eBooks currently in the NYPL system and the amount grows each year. Most of them are the current bestsellers.

 

[Kathi OD]

I wonder how long libraries like Philadephia's are going to be willing to share ebook resources with people outside the geographic service area. You know if they can't keep up with the demand by their local taxpayers it would seem they would have to restrict all those $15 memberships they are offering.

Personally, if I wanted to minimize the amount of money I spent I'd get a Kindle (my preference!) or a Nook and make friends with people who bought some of the current bestsellers - and then I would see if they would lend to me if I bought some titles and loaned to them. That would be a much more efficient way of getting newer books more cheaply.

But I am the ereader customer who purchased for convenience, not cost savings. I will never be happy waiting for a book and being told I have to read it in a certain timeframe. It's well worth the ten dollars to have total access to a book on my time schedule.

I know that I'm not the kind of reader that will really benefit from an ereader and that's why I haven't purchased one already. I love the book. Holding the book, feeling the paper, turning the pages, for me it all adds to the experience and is an important part of the joy of reading. I'm also not a big book buyer, although I do purchase books that I have especially enjoyed. I'm a big proponent of my public library. I always have a huge list of books that I want, so if the latest title isn't available right away, I'm OK with waiting a bit. There's always another title that I can be reading while I wait. Fortunately, in my county we can opt to have the books mailed to us when they become available, so that's a time saver.

My main reason for purchasing an ereader would be for use when away from home. I've been known to take up to 10 books on a week's vacation. Those books take up a lot of space in a suitcase and an ereader would certainly free up some of that space for other things.

DSIL, on the other hand, just wants an ereader because they are cool. Like me, she's also a huge patron of her county public library (different county/state). Unlike me however, she doesn't purchase any books.

 

[Kathi OD]

If you have a relative who lives in NYS, they can get a library card from the NY Public Library. Each member is allowed to check out 12 eBooks/audiobooks at a time. Perhaps, if they aren't going to be checking out that many eBooks at once, and are willing to share their library card number with you, you can download some eBooks. The eBooks are "returned" automatically on the due date, so they never have to worry about you racking up overdue fines. There are over 15,000 eBooks currently in the NYPL system and the amount grows each year. Most of them are the current bestsellers.

NY has a statewide library system?? My sister lives in NY (Finger Lakes region). If I'm reading your post correctly, that would be yet another option.

 

[Imzadi]

NY has a statewide library system?? My sister lives in NY (Finger Lakes region). If I'm reading your post correctly, that would be yet another option.

It's not necessarily a "statewide" system. The NYC Public Library system is in the metro NYC area, but they have on their membership page that any NYS resident can apply for membership to their library. I was looking for what the requirements were as my nephews live upstate and I have a better library system.

Let me go find the web page. . .

Be right back.

 

[Imzadi]

Here are the eligibility rules:
http://www.nypl.org/help/library-card/terms-conditions

Actually it is, "Any person who lives, works, attends school or pays property taxes in New York State is eligible to receive a New York Public Library card free of charge."

Applying for the card:
http://www.nypl.org/help/library-card


Once you are a member, here is the link to the eBooks and audiobooks. It's a separate link from the regular (paper) book catalog. The most plentiful eBooks are in the .pdf format which a Nook or Sony will be able to read. You can do an Advanced Search for the genres you are interested in.

http://ebooks.nypl.org/B9A00E1E-EA68-4BCD-9A18-6C3F1DB04A56/10/257/en/BrowseeBooks.htm

 

[Buckalew11]

OP, your reading habits sound a lot like mine. That said, I'm loving my Nook. I like having so many books in one small space. I like the dictionary feature. I like the font size choice. I'm sure I'll still read paper books because I do love them but I really like the convenience of an e-reader.

 

[Imzadi]

The problem with the "lots of free books available' is that they are not bestsellers. They are not necessarily books you want to read. If you want your choice of free books, you need the nook so you can do library books.

I always keep reading people saying how Kindle has lots of free books to download. Yes, I have a Kindle account and have downloaded many in the past year. But none of them really "grab" me as, "Ooooh! I must read that," or, "That's the one book I've been wanting to read." For those, I head to my library's eBooks.

Our library has eBooks but the wait lists are getting terrible. A pre-order for the new Scarpetta book went live last week and within hours it was over 20 people long. If they don't add additional copies and all those people keep the book for 2 to 3 weeks each, it would be over a year to get the book.

Frankly 20 people on a waitlist is nothing! Try 872 for Dan Brown's, The Lost Symbol. I didn't even know Brown had wrote a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, until the day it was released, and by then, the waitlist was waaay too long. It took me about 7 months before the book was available to me.

I wonder how long libraries like Philadephia's are going to be willing to share ebook resources with people outside the geographic service area. You know if they can't keep up with the demand by their local taxpayers it would seem they would have to restrict all those $15 memberships they are offering

Actually, I think it's going to work the other way around. This sudden inflow of $15 here and there adds greatly to their much needed money as local city funding gets cut. Many libraries are forced to close earlier hours and much needed books can't be bought because they just don't have the money. It doesn't matter what the taxpayers want. If there's no money, there's no money. There's not much a library can do, even for it's residents if it doesn't have the budget.

Each $15 coming in isn't just for eBooks or extra copies. If they had gotten just 200 new memberships in the last few months, that's $3000. They can spend it to keep their library open as well as to buy or replace paper books.

For the first time since I've been a member of the NYPL, and that is some 20+years, I have never seen such advertising and begging by the library for donations, and petitioning for the city to not to continually cut our budget, as it has done again. The library budget is always one of the first to go. Our library depends greatly on private & corporate donations.

Our eBook collection went up 3000 books from last year alone. That IS because the demand and readership is greater. And our library always stocks the latest NY Times bestsellers, in both paper & eBook form. We have a special section just for NY Times Bestsellers. That's what brings people in, not some obscure, unknown author books, or old public domain snoozers.

Someone shouldn't have to wait 10 years for Outlander to be free, if that's their genre.

 

[DVCLiz]

I know that I'm not the kind of reader that will really benefit from an ereader and that's why I haven't purchased one already. I love the book. Holding the book, feeling the paper, turning the pages, for me it all adds to the experience and is an important part of the joy of reading. I'm also not a big book buyer, although I do purchase books that I have especially enjoyed. I'm a big proponent of my public library. I always have a huge list of books that I want, so if the latest title isn't available right away, I'm OK with waiting a bit. There's always another title that I can be reading while I wait. Fortunately, in my county we can opt to have the books mailed to us when they become available, so that's a time saver.

My main reason for purchasing an ereader would be for use when away from home. I've been known to take up to 10 books on a week's vacation. Those books take up a lot of space in a suitcase and an ereader would certainly free up some of that space for other things.

DSIL, on the other hand, just wants an ereader because they are cool. Like me, she's also a huge patron of her county public library (different county/state). Unlike me however, she doesn't purchase any books.

Everybody has their own reasons for wanting ereaders, and one is not better than the other!! I find that the convenience is the major draw for me - others that the free library access is the most important feature.

I just want to point out that right now, it depends on the number of ebook licenses a library has. The ebook checkout process might not be what you are used to with traditional paper books, and wait times might be longer. Just be prepared for that.

Also, I was a librarian for 17 years and I too resisted and thought I would not be able to give up the feel, smell, etc of a paper book. WRONG!! It took about 5 minutes to see that what I really enjoyed was the story, not the format. Try it for yourself and I bet you will be surprised how quickly you adjust!!

 

[DVCLiz]

I always keep reading people saying how Kindle has lots of free books to download. Yes, I have a Kindle account and have downloaded many in the past year. But none of them really "grab" me as, "Ooooh! I must read that," or, "That's the one book I've been wanting to read." For those, I head to my library's eBooks.




Frankly 20 people on a waitlist is nothing! Try 872 for Dan Brown's, The Lost Symbol. I didn't even know Brown had wrote a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, until the day it was released, and by then, the waitlist was waaay too long. It took me about 7 months before the book was available to me.




Actually, I think it's going to work the other way around. This sudden inflow of $15 here and there adds greatly to their much needed money as local city funding gets cut. Many libraries are forced to close earlier hours and much needed books can't be bought because they just don't have the money. It doesn't matter what the taxpayers want. If there's no money, there's no money. There's not much a library can do, even for it's residents if it doesn't have the budget.

Each $15 coming in isn't just for eBooks or extra copies. If they had gotten just 200 new memberships in the last few months, that's $3000. They can spend it to keep their library open as well as to buy or replace paper books.

For the first time since I've been a member of the NYPL, and that is some 20+years, I have never seen such advertising and begging by the library for donations, and petitioning for the city to not to continually cut our budget, as it has done again. The library budget is always one of the first to go. Our library depends greatly on private & corporate donations.

Our eBook collection went up 3000 books from last year alone. That IS because the demand and readership is greater. And our library always stocks the latest NY Times bestsellers, in both paper & eBook form. We have a special section just for NY Times Bestsellers. That's what brings people in, not some obscure, unknown author books, or old public domain snoozers.

Someone shouldn't have to wait 10 years for Outlander to be free, if that's their genre.

I think there is a tipping point - how many new memberships at what price provide the majority of readers with the ability to read a best seller without a lengthy wait list? When a library figures that out and can fund it with subscriptions from people outside their geographic area, they'll be in great shape. I just don't think they are there yet. I think there will be more demand and longer wait lists for the forseeable future. There are an awful lot of ereaders being sold for Christmas this year and the libraries won't be able to keep up.

As I have said many times before, it depends on whether you want to spend or not. If you buy your own books you are always able to read when and for how long you want, but you spend money to do it. If you check out from the library you are always able to control your costs, but you lose the convenience.