How to Load Up Your Ereader with Ebooks For Free

Amazon unveiled their Kindle Lending Library for Amazon Prime members last week, but even if you're a Prime member, the new Lending Library only offers you a single book per Prime account, and if you use a Kindle app or another ereader, you're out of luck. Put that Kindle-or any ereader for that matter—to better use in a closer place than you might expect: your local library.

While the Kindle Lending Library is a great addition to Amazon's lineup of services for Amazon Prime members, it is a bit limited in that you only have access to about 5,000 books right now, and you can only check out a few books per Prime account, no matter how many Kindles, users, or even devices running the Kindle app there happen to be in your household. If you own a different ereader, use a Kindle app for your phone or desktop, or just want more options, thousands of libraries around the country are home to large libraries of ebooks, ready and waiting for you to check them out.

Photo by Cloned Milkmen.

Use OverDrive to Find Supported Libraries Near You

OverDrive is a digital distribution and publishing company that partners with thousands of libraries, schools, and universities around the globe to give users access to ebooks on any device they may own. The beauty of the OverDrive service though is that it's not limited to Kindle owners, but it supports them and Kindle app users. The OverDrive Media Console works on Mac OS systems, Windows computers, iOS devices, Android devices, and Windows Phones, and OverDrive locations support lending ebooks to more ereaders and tablets than we can list here. It's safe to say that if there's a library near you in the search results, you can take any device and borrow an ebook to read.

A few months ago, Amazon announced that Kindle owners could visit their local libraries to check out books, which was really their way of announcing Amazon finally partnered with OverDrive for distribution to Kindle devices. OverDrive already works worldwide. To find out if your library participates, visit OverDrive Search, click Library Search, and type in your ZIP or postal code. Odds are there's some location near you.

Photo by Jeffrey Beall.

Search What's Available Before You Leave for the Library

One of the nice things about OverDrive supported libraries is that they often allow you to search what's available for your specific device or in formats your device understands before you walk out of your door and head for your library. In most cases, you can even see how many "copies" are available to borrow, so you don't waste your time heading in to the library to borrow an ebook you really want only to find out it's unavailable.

Unfortunately, most publisher agreements with OverDrive and with libraries that use it require them to treat ebooks the same way as digital copies. That means that is a limited quantity of "books" that can be loaned to ereaders, and in some cases that quantity also depends on the number of paper copies on the shelves. When all of the paper copies are gone, some libraries won't let you take out the digital copies either. It's not ideal, but until book publishers' approach to lending changes, even physical lending libraries will have limitations on how ebooks are given out to patrons.

Walk In to Pick Up Your Ebooks or Check Out Online

Some libraries allow you to check out your books online and transfer them to the device of your choice. They'll be added to your library account as "checked out," and you'll have to check them back in when your lending period is up. Others require you to walk in to the library and check them out there.

OverDrive isn't only useful for libraries though. The service also works with brick-and-mortar booksellers who participate with the program, so you can walk in and walk out with paper books and ebooks. You can search the OverDrive directory for book titles you're interested in, or for booksellers in your area that support sales on ereaders.

The Kindle Lending Library is a great tool, especially if you're a Kindle owner and a Prime member. If you're only one of or neither or those two things, a quick web search or search at your local library's web site is the ticket to loading up your smartphone, tablet, or computer with ebooks. If you're no fan of having to borrow the books, you can always download free books from Project Gutenberg. Do you have a favorite source for free ebooks? Share it the comments below.