Kindle and OverDrive Bringing Library Lending This September?

One of the biggest flaws in the idea of a Kindle purchase for a lot of people has been the complete lack of library lending support.  This isn’t a new problem.  It stems from Amazon’s refusal to open up compatibility with the industry standard EPUB format.  While Amazon may not have been willing to concede on that point, however, library lending is a must have for customers so they have worked with OverDrive Library, the most popular library lending management tool available today, to bring the capability to the Kindle.  Several months back we heard that it was due before the end of the year and little has come up since then, until now.

Toward the end of OverDrive’s Digipalooze conference, one of the biggest unanswered questions was that of Kindle support.  When would it be coming, what would it include, how hard would it be to use, and all the other little details.  Though many of the specifics are still up in the air, the major points of the final presentation’s focus tell us a lot.  Specifically, the final summary:

Streamlining (both downloading and ordering)
Explosion (we have gone from two reading devices to 85 and more are coming)
Premium (the library catalog as the most premium, value-added site on the Web)
Traffic (enormous growth coming by year’s end)

Naturally no specific dates were given, but I’m catching a rather obvious hint hidden in there as to when we can expect results.

This software update will not just include Kindle support.  It will also mean an improvement to the experience for all library patrons.  The acquisition process will be simplified significantly, for example.  While the Kindle will be the only device that maintains persistent notes (meaning that anything you annotate in your library rental will still be there next time you rent or buy the text) , everybody will benefit in some way.  There will also be an emphasis on allowing readers to express their preferences when it comes to library ownership.  Not every library can keep every title in stock, especially with some publishers disliking the idea of eBook rentals enough to force libraries to keep repurchasing their books constantly, but now users will be able to point out their desired titles to the library or even go directly from the library rentals page to a purchasing option if they don’t feel like waiting.

From the sound of things, this is going to be the biggest thing to hit libraries in a long time.  OverDrive is reportedly putting systems in place to handle demand a hundred times more intense than this past year.  Kindle support will certainly do a lot to contribute to those numbers, but this may end up being the beginning of a whole new way to view libraries.  If everything goes as planned and September is indeed the month of release, it is going to be a big one.  Having a library card has never been such a good investment for the eReading enthusiast.

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