Are you talking about the Amazon Kindle specifically, or are you referring to e-readers in general? If you're asking only about Kindles, then the link below should help. If you are considering some other e-reader, you may want to ask some followup questions specific to that device.

You also have to remember that many books you might like to get from the library are not necessarily available in e-book form.

Here is a link that might be useful: Library books for Kindle

Yes, any kindle will do. Unfortunately our County Libraries do not have them yet.. They are having meetings trying to decide which ones to buy, how to distribute them, etc.

My neighbor told me she got a Kindle last year (2010) for Christmas and our town library offers books to be downloaded for free same as picking them up at the library.
She was wondering if there is such a thing you have to have a kindle that is wifi or will her's work for that?(her not knowing)

All kindles have wi-fi. If she doesn't have wi-fi at home she must connect it to her computer to get books. She should be able to do the same from the library.

Thanks!

I am not an expert at anything, But not all Kindles have wifi. Mine does not. You can borrow library books on either kind of Kindle as long as your library is part of it. You can actually join a large library somewhere else (Phildelphia, New York) to borrow ebooks. The download procedure is a little different for the wifi and the whispernet kindles.

Thanks for clarifying that Pam. I based my answer on the 4th generation kindles which is what I have. On these they all have wifi and you have to pay extra for the 3G connection. I guess some of the older models had the free 3G without the wifi. I do think they all use whispernet which seems to be the name of the software they use to put the book in your kindle library. It works over both wifi and 3G. My statement should have been that all kindles have some form of wireless connection. I'll look into joining a library somewhere else. In California our public libraries are so poorly funded they can't stay open full time and any money spent purchasing ebooks can't be used to purchase other needed materials.

Bob, my Kindle is older and I love the free 3G-great for traveling and so on. I bought my mother (90!) the $79 kindle for Christmas and registered it as my second kindle so I can put any books I have bought on there for her. I have to bring it to my house where I have wireless, but it works well for us and she never has to be without a book.

Nope any amazon kindle. Our library added kindle ebooks last spring but I have so many free ones I am wading through on my kindle I have not had time to get any from the library. I got a kindle wifi/3g a year ago and love it and just got a kindle fire for Christmas I love even more. Use it more than the laptop now to get on quick and check my email and watch some movies, great little tablet. Mary

Thanks again.
I just updated my neighbor of this.
She is going to go to the Library to find out about hers.

A note to those Kindle owners who are Canadian - library books cannot be borrowed from a Canadian library on a Kindle. (But hopefully that will change!)

E-books from public libraries are kind of a sore spot with me. I have nothing against them really, except that our local libraries have announced that most of their budget will go for e-books instead of the regular paper books. This puts a lot of seniors out of luck since they don't have computer skills and no one to teach them. It is sad our seniors who certainly need the cost benefits of public libraries can no longer use them. Climbing off soapbox.

Well where I am in NY we have had big budget cuts and some of the libraries were the first to go. Thankfully our library in town stayed open but some of the other smaller libraries around me closed and this wasy going on way before the big ebook thing. Mary!

Sad that libraries and education always seem to feel the ax first. Hard for those who have to make the decisions because not everyone has the same priorities.

I have the Kindle app on my Android tablet but many of my libraries ebooks are in several different PDF formats that aren't as easy to read...some are in Kindle though. I think I've run into about five formats.