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Community Corner

Palos Verdes Libraries Lend Kindle Books

Residents now can borrow library books on a Kindle as the Palos Verdes Library District has joined a new Amazon program.

Palos Verdes residents now can take their Kindles to the library and choose between books to read on the devices, after the Palos Verdes Library District added Kindle e-books to its services.

As of last week, Kindle books were made available at more than 11,000 libraries in the U.S. Books can be borrowed from a local library website and then delivered to a Kindle device or free reading app, according to Amazon.

The e-books are already a success in Palos Verdes, said David Campbell, the district's manager of digital services.

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"[E-books are] really hot right now," he said. "[They're] doing really well, both the audio and the ones you read."

E-books can be checked out for three weeks and can't be renewed, they just disappear from the device and must be checked out again, Campbell said.

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Most of the library's available e-books have been converted to Kindle, so the catalog is very up-to-date, Campbell said. If a book shows up as being available as an e-book, chances are it's available for the Kindle, he said.

Library e-books have been available for several years, thanks to a program called OverDrive. Owners of Nooks, iPads, iTouch, Sony Readers, Kobos, Blackberries, iPods, Androids, and even plain old computers (Mac or PC) have been able to borrow e-books all this time, but Kindle users were left out because Amazon didn’t participate.

But that has changed. Now Kindle owners can borrow library e-books too, and the sky’s the limit.

About 10,000 different books can also be checked out to Kindle users from the Los Angeles County Public Library system.

Both and Manhattan Beach libraries are among the 85 county libraries offering the service. 

Redondo Beach Library has also added Kindle e-books.

As thousands of new titles have been added to the county library catalogue, the Los Angeles County Public Library System Public Affairs Manager Ken Kramer warns, "There will be a queue for some of the more popular titles."

Kramer said the electronic books are licensed for use. The library’s collection department decides which titles and how many licenses to purchase, and pays for those licenses.

"We pay to license the book for so many checkouts," Kramer said. "It’s very different than having a regular paper book in your collection."

He added that the technology "is still being hashed out as far as licensing and availability with the publishers."

Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach patrons should be able to find the e-books in the library’s online catalog, Kramer said.

“It’s up to each library system to determine which titles they want to carry, hard copy or e-book,” Kramer said.

For Redondo Beach Library cardholders, an “e-books and audiobooks” link on the site’s front page of the library website.

Palos Verdes digital services librarian Erik Adams has put the Kindle instructions on his library’s front page, in the form of a video tutorial.

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