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I was looking into getting a Kindle for my dad. He uses our local library regularly at the moment, and apparently they also do ebooks - sounds great, I think.
But:
Can I transfer Suffolk eBooks to my Kindle?No. The Kindle is an Amazon product which is severely locked down. This means that it is not currently possible to borrow any UK public library books on a Kindle. You can however use a desktop or laptop (Windows or Mac) and a wide range of eReaders or mobile devices. For example you can transfer some eBooks to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Sony eReader or Kobo eReader. For more information, please see Overdrive's Resource Device Center.
Are the other alternatives worth it? Is borrowing ebooks (when it works) simple and hassle free? Or should I just think of something else and let my dad carry on reading dead trees?
guess it depends on the format and any protection on the files, but you can copy pdfs to the kindle easily - just drag and drop when it's connected to a pc/mac
It's an interesting idea. If you borrow an eBook from your library, will it expire after a couple of weeks?
For what it's worth, if you go for a tablet rather than a kindle, then you can usually download any reader app you like. Although the screens probably aren't as good for reading as stuff like the Kindle.
From [url= http://techtips.salon.com/types-files-can-put-kindle-355.html ]Here[/url]
File formats:
AZW. These files are usually bought and downloaded from the Kindle store and are one of the few file formats that the Kindle recognizes.
The Kindle also recognizes standard TXT files, as well as MOBI and PRC files, which are books purchased from Mobipocket.
(There are no tools outside of Amazon that can create AZW files or convert other file types to AZW)
Converting:
Using the Kindle Personal Document Service, you can also convert the following document types to a format that the Kindle can read: DOC, HTML, RTF and PDF
(Not tried this myself)
So it depends what format the libraries eBooks are.
There is a way of doing this, but it's a bit longwinded and involved; involves using another piece of software to import the borrowed e-book and strip the DRM from it and convert it to the correct format for the kindle...
The piece of software itself is very useful for anyone with an e-book reader and is called calibre. It is essentially like iTunes for your e-book reader, store all your books within it and then just drag and drop them onto your kindle as required. Will also convert between e-book formats and strip any DRM from them (with a couple of plugins)
Jon1973 - usually they do, but import them into calibre and it strips the DRM and the self destruct function.....
The kindle does read other book formats, I'm sure it reads PDFs too.
What format are the library books in?
EDIT: the Kindle 3 supports PDFs - ie the newer ones.
The Kindle is an Amazon product which is severely locked down. This means that it is not currently possible to borrow any UK public library books on a Kindle.
Patent nonsense.
Books bought through Amazon are usually DRM restricted, but that's a restriction of the storefront and absolutely nothing at all to do with the device. Anything in a format that can be read on other ebooks can be read on a Kindle, though if it's not a native format you'll need to process it with Calibre first.
The issue is to do with the DRM - when you "borrow" an ebook, you can keep it for three weeks then it deletes itself. I'm sure there are ways of getting round this with a Kindle but they all sound more fiddly than I'd want to inflict on my dad, hence the question about the alternative readers (Nook and Kobo are both supported, for instance). It would definitely have to be an e-ink device rather than a tablet (for reasons of battery life, readability and cost).
Edit: This is the FAQ I was quoting from originally
http://www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/about-us/how-to-join-and-use-the-library/help-with-ebooks/
My Kindle with keyboard can read PDF's and import other ebooks. I use Calibre to manage my books and transfer them to the Kindle. I don't think it does anything special as it's just a folder that appears in Windows Explorer were you drag and drop stuff including photos.
Ah. So what they really mean is,
Can I transfer Suffolk eBooks to my Kindle?No. The Kindle is an Amazon product which is severely locked down. This means that we don't know how to impose our own DRM on it.
[i]What format are the library books in?[/i]
• Adobe EPUB eBooks – digital versions of print books which can also be transferred to many eBook reading devices. You may change the font size to instantly create a Large Print version of the title.
• Adobe PDF eBooks –these eBooks can be checked out and transferred to supported eBook reading devices.
I see where they're going with this now.
They've got it integrated into the website using something called "Overdrive" to try and deliver directly to the device. For Kindles, this farms out to the Amazon.com website, but this only works in the US.
For reasons best known to Amazon, features like buying ebooks as gifts only works in the US. It's really irritating.
(Thinking about it, I wonder if there's anything to stop me associating mine with a .com account instead of / as well as .co.uk? Hmm...)
Cougar, you need a US credit card for that.
Flaps.
Cougar, you need a US credit card for that.
No you don't. I've got two accounts, and can switch at will between them, using UK cards.
Can I transfer Suffolk eBooks to my Kindle?No. The Kindle is an Amazon product which is severely locked down. This means that we don't know how to impose our own DRM on it.
Probably more to do with copyright licences, library lending privileges etc rather than "we don't know how to do it".
[url= http://copyrightandtechnology.com/2011/02/27/are-libraries-locked-out-of-the-e-book-world/ ]US based but a bit more info - it is about libraries though so not very exciting.[/url]