😦 Here are we are to Part 6 of my Amazon & The Kindle series! This is my LAST one in this informational series!!!! I hope you have learned a new thing or two with your Kindle device! This week we are focusing on…if you reside outside of the United States, please read on because there ARE options for you too!!
Your Local Library & Your Kindle
Here is where having a Kindle and a library card can become DANGEROUS. The first thing you need to do is get yourself a local library card. Consult with your local library and see what services are offered through them. Each library district is different with what they offer, I will be going over the most popular options and what exactly they are. Bottom line, they are SIMPLE to use with your Kindle!! Even my 80+ year old grandmother can check out library books to her Kindle!
*Let me interject here. Some library districts are small and do not offer a lot. I am going to highlight a few public libraries that you can buy a yearly membership to. Some people like to go with these libraries regardless because they have a much bigger library to choose from. I am lucky enough to have 2 library districts in my area that I am a member of and I have found what my smaller district does not have available in an ebook format, the larger one does. Check with your local library first and see if they have any reciprocal or sister libraries you are eligible to borrow from too! These are just a few options…
Orange County Library System (Florida) 3 months $75, 6 months $100, 1 year $125 (They allow membership to lose who live OUTSIDE of the United States as well!)
Brooklyn Public Library (New York) 1 year $50
Free Library Of Philadelphia 1 year $50 (They also allow membership to those who live OUTSIDE of the United States as well!)
Fairfax County Library (Virginia) 1 year $27
Check this blog out for even more options!
**Side note…I would love to have the ability to borrow from a library in England/Europe/Overseas (because you guys get a lot of books over there first that I want to read) so if anyone knows of any libraries like these, PLEASE reach out and let me know!
Let’s move on to the actual ways you will borrow from the library now…my favorite…
Overdrive is one of the main borrowing systems libraries use for ebooks. They have a website and app you can use and your local library usually has a link set up on their website to their Overdrive library. From there you can browse around. You will use your library card and password to log in to Overdrive so make sure all of that is set up with your local library first! Now…Overdrive has an app, but I don’t find it to be user friendly. The also have Libby (presented by Overdrive) which is SUPER easy to use! You can download it to your device and log in with your library credentials. I have 2 libraries connected to my account and bounce back and forth between them.
On one side of the app is your shelf, which shows what you have borrowed and you can look at your holds shelf for what you have coming. On the other side is the library side where you can search and find ebooks and audiobooks. The audiobooks read right through the app, it’s easy and magical. This is what I showed my grandmother to use and guys…she doesn’t need ANY help to navigate it. That’s how easy it is!!!! Here is a quick look at the inside of my account just so you can see how pretty it looks…
Once you have a library book checked out to you, you will click on it and it will take you right to the Amazon website where you can check out the book to borrow. Most libraries let you choose how long you want the hold for (7 days, 14 days, 21 days) so make sure you pay attention to that detail! Once your hold is up the ebook will automatically go back to the library, no late fees!! I do check my books back in early through Libby and AGAIN through Amazon (I go to www.amazon.com/myk and select the book and click on return, sometimes the book won’t go back to your library early unless you do this, you’ll get a note on your Kindle with the book saying return ended and you can just delete that off your Kindle and it’s off for good). Just a helpful tip for returning through Overdrive!
Next there’s Hoopla…
Hoopla’s biggest perk? There’s NO waiting period (unlike with Overdrive and the more popular books)…everything that is available in the library is available to you IMMEDIATELY. The selection is not as big with the latest releases, but you can borrow so much MORE through Hoopla…the Hoopla app is available on iOS, Android, AND the Amazon app store. You can access it via Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. Why would you need all that?
Because you can borrow ebooks, audiobooks, movies, music, comics, and television!! WOW! My local library allows me to borrow 8 items a month. The only downside is everything is done through the app so I can’t take the ebook I borrow and read it on my Kindle Paperwhite, I have to read it on a device that has the Hoopla app on it (it would work on the Kindle Fire tablet). They even have a kids area to the app (which my kids LOVE) to explore. They enjoy checking out movies and shows…just be careful of your library’s limit!!! Even if you return items, you are only allowed that amount to be checked out each month!
That’s really all I wanted to highlight as those are the 2 most popular eborrowing tools with public libraries. Check with your local library to see what they have to offer. My local library also offers extra services such as a free membership to Creativebug and the children’s learning program Socrates. Support your local library!! Please let me know if you have any other questions about any eborrowing abilities or if your library has a really neat feature.
I hope this series has helped you unlock the potential in your Kindle. To recap all the series posts…
Amazon & The Kindle: Part 5 Kindle Unlimited #Amazon #Kindle #KU #Ebooks #KindleUnlimited
Amazon & The Kindle: Part 4 #FreeNewsletters #Free #Kindle #FreeReads #Amazon #FreeEbooks #Ebooks
Amazon & The Kindle: Part 3 #Kindle #AmazonPrime #Amazon #Reading #Ebooks #Perks
Amazon & The Kindle: Part 2 #Kindle #Amazon #KindleTips
Happy Sunday!!!!!!
Donna's Reading Chair 
I love Overdrive and Hoopla! I honestly don’t know how I’d survive (reading-wise) without them. My library district is pretty good regarding selection, too. They don’t always have everything I’d like to read, but they regularly add so much material that things I want tend to show up eventually! I’d recommend Overdrive and Hoopla to anyone!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just wish I could recommend more books for Overdrive. There tends not to be a lot of requestable titles. They either have it or they don’t. Aside from that it’s been great!! I love that I finally figured out how to suspend holds too so I don’t run in to an issue of all my books being available at once!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do get frustrated with the limits on recommendations. I think I am limited to 5 per month! I could easily do 25 per month!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can recommend 5 physical books a month and I’m not sure on ebooks. I almost feel like I’m friends with the librarian in charge of book requests, I make sure she gets those 5 monthly requests from me 😂😂😂.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved this post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!!
LikeLike