I don't own a kindle either but from what my friends have said who do borrow books on their kindles, when a book is due it is deleted on the due date. I don't know if that's the case in all library systems or not. Unlike an actual book where if I'm not finished it I just return it late. :)

I don't know if it works on a kindle, but it certainly works on an iPad that there are tons of magazines online via libraries as well (for free). I have signed up with our local library and closer big city library (digitally) and can load up all kinds of magazines from mainstream to specialized, its great!

On the App there is a 'return this book' icon to click, I think I will go ahead and do that when I finish reading.

Moni, I had a bunch of books with proper pages, some that I had owned for 30-40 years, all but about 5 were claimed by the flood. I was heartbroken.

Because of the flooding in the garage where all my stuff was packed waiting for the move (boxes of books on the bottom because they were heavy) and the fact that the garage had several electrical outlets, I waited for the water to subside, by then the books were sodden and slimy.

I posted earlier, but it disappeared.

Hoopla is a good app for local library access.

We use Kanopy on Roku or Apple TV. Kanopy is most often linked to university libraries, so you'll need to be a student, faculty member or a "friend" of the library. Great documentaries on Kanopy.

Flipster, a digital magazine service is also popular with Kindle owners who wish to gain access to magazines at participating public libraries.

I prefer to read physical books, but someone was raving about overdrive, though I've not used it. Also there is the gutenberg project which makes out of copyright material available for free for download in many formats.

My program, Libby, is through Overdrive. I'm not even pretending to know anything about the technology that makes this all possible, but I am happy that it is.

Love love love library books on Kindle. Our library uses Overdrive, very simple once you get it set up. I also get some books through Amazon Prime. My friend reads a ton, and since he is retired Navy, he has access to the Navy library.

It is a little annoying when they expire before I'm finished. If there is no waiting list, I immediately go and check it out again. Or, if all else fails, go and check out the paper copy and finish it that way.

My library gives my 15 days, since I am retired with time to read I usually finish a book in two days unless it is one of those 800-900 page behemoths.

Heh, yeah. Have you ever read 11/22/63 by Stephen King? Awesome book, but it's almost 1200 pages long, IIRC. I got it on Kindle, read for 14 days, got it again, read for 14 days. Was not available, so checked out the book from the library (it's a brick). Read for 14 days, renewed again. That thing took me two months to read!!

I have 20-21 days to read the book. I get Kindle books from Overdrive and our library has a program called cloud library - Also there you get 20-21 days. I have picked up some very good books from CL which were brand new and had a long wait list for the hardback copy. They do get returned automatically when the time is up or you can return them when you're finished. Can have 6 out at a time. Love them for traveling and can usually pick something up right now when I run out of book or am tired of what I'm reading.

One of my best friends goes to the public library. Because I teach at a university, I can check out books and keep them for several months. Of course, the books are subject to recall if someone else needs one. The books there are academic in nature.

I have started to use Overdrive through my library and noticed that you can set the time that you want to check out a book 7, 14, or 21 days. You do not have to have a Kindle or a Nook you can read books on almost any computer. There are several sources for books on the net. Type free books in your search area and hit enter. You may find older books that you liked an author but never had time to read by doing this rather than using the library. Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have free books that you can find by using the "free book" in their respective search areas. One problem I have found is that some of the free books are just teasers so check to see how long the book is before selecting. Disappointing to enjoy something only to find that it is only part of a book.

A think I noticed about the Kindle Fire is that the charging plug is the same as what is used by Apple so although I could be wrong I think at least this version is an Apple product.

Scott, check out Kanopy on Roku. Movies and documentaries galore stored at university libraries.

Kindles aren't manufactured by Apple. Heck, Apple products aren't manufactured by Apple either.

Overdrive has a humongous collection of books available. Libraries choose which books will be made available to their patrons from their "subscriptions" to the service and typically this is something less than 20% of what Overdrive can provide. Depending on the size of the library, while most will have best sellers and most popular titles, the selections each makes can vary significantly. If one likes the "series" style with recurring characters, as an example, it's not unusual for libraries to not have all titles available.

It may not be like this elsewhere but in California, it's possible for residents to get a library card for almost any library system in the state. When local libraries choose to accept state supplemental funding (and most do), a condition is they must allow state residents, no matter where from outside the particular library's district, to get a card. The one requirement is that you have to apply in person. Because we have occasion to wander around the state, I've accumulated 10 different cards without inconvenience. It is possible to renew them by phone.

The advantage of doing this is that because each library district has different books chosen, having access to different collections provides access to more books. Only the bigger ones are of much use. I've also found, interestingly enough, that when I'm looking for a particular title, a book that's popular and has a long wait list in San Diego may not be popular and may be immediately available from the City of LA or County of LA systems, or from San Francisco. Or, the other way around.

I use Overdrive exclusively for audio books, which I listen to when exercising, walking my dog, and when driving alone.

I use Overdrive on my iPad. My frustration is that our library systems take forever to get new releases. Luckily, I can use my mother's library in another state. They get new releases right away. Of course, sometimes I am so far down on the waiting list that I don't get some books for months. The other day, I was able to borrow a new release only two days after the release date. I was so excited!!!

Elmer, I forgot that you are in California. I joined both Orange County Public Library and Southern California Digital Library. In both cases, new releases of popular fiction are not acquired right away. Do you know why?

FRIEND Your Public Library!

We donate to our library annually. What better way to 'share the wealth'?

I don't read books on a device, but know several people that do. Since my local library branch is only 4 blocks from home, I usually walk there weekly and get the "real" books. It is amazing some of the technology available to those that wish to utilize it.

I normally go to my library weekly but I also run out of things to read so I use one of my readers. I am starting not finding things that I like to read at the library. Like some above mentioned the most each library system picks its own books. However for those that do not know there is an inter-library system that you can request a hard book from another library to be sent to your library. Some rare books may only be accessed at the library rather than checked out.

fun2be, I don't know why. I too have seen that "delivery" can sometimes vary from library to library. Try to get LA City and also LA County cards too, they both have very large Overdrive subscriptions and different from one another.

A few weeks ago, I'd heard an author interview in a podcast and decided to look for the book that was talked about, in audio form from Overdrive. The first two libraries I checked had accumulated moderately long wait lists and the title was described as "pending" or something like that. I checked another library and they not only had it but there was a copy available for checkout.

Maybe it's that libraries have monthly spending budgets for Overdrive and when acquiring new titles, they may at times have to delay the start date to the next month or even longer out if their budget for the current period has already been spent? I don't know.

I got my first e-reader about 6 yrs ago and was thrilled to be able to get books to read without leaving my house. I live in the country. It is especially nice in the winter or if I want something late at night.

I agree, Rose, about how amazing it is to be able to get resources remotely and almost instantly. I don't use ebooks, but I download the occasional movie from our public library's Hoopla app. I am constantly using Overdrive for audiobooks that I listen to for my 10,000 steps. Our library used to provide an audiobook service via Hoopla as well but have discontinued it unfortunately, likely due to the cost. I loved using Hoopla for audiobooks because there was instant access and a better selection than on Overdrive.

Don't know if Kindle lovers know this but you can also loan and borrow e-books from other Kindle owners. My daughter and I do this frequently.

Thanks, Elmer.

We live in a moderately sized metro area, but our county library system is not connected to any others. I asked. We can only get books from within our system of branches. :(

I use overdrive frequently and enjoy it but I find the search for the sort of books that I'm interested in a bit frustrating. The search criteria are not intuitive. Even after reading the definitions I still don't understand ATOS or lexile level. I end up wading through a lot of romance, mystery, and Amish fiction to find books. If I am looking for a particular book that is fine, browsing is the hard work.

aok, you misunderstood. I can only get a book solely from each library's collection too, no loaning or access from one system to another. But I can get separate cards from many different libraries and so can get books from the Overdrive collections of each separately, using a different card for each. Which card used hardly matters if the same book is available from several, the connection and downloads are done over the internet. The question is - if you went to another area, another county in your state, can you get a card from the library there?

lisa, I find books by going to the overdrive pages of the library. As an example, google "Denver Library Overdrive", click on the Google search result, and that takes you to the top page of Denver's Overdrive collection. Then click on the search field for that page, enter a keyword (an author, a word in the title, a subject or type of book) and you will see what's in the collection.

I also use Overdrive to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from my library. I use my iPad for the audiobooks and my Sony ereader for the ebooks. I get to keep them for 2 weeks or return them early if I get done sooner. I can borrow 5 items at a time. It’s great. I still go to the library for paper books and to do updates on my devices.