Open Library - The Only Place to Borrow Many Titles

[SteveEisenberg]

I've just been looking at www.openlibrary.org, and there's a lot there. I think it deserves more attention.

Here a description written in July 2011:

http://librarianinblack.net/libraria...or-ebooks.html

A new project with 1,000+ currently participating libraries, including mine, is the Lending Library, a swiftly growing collection of 100,000+ eBooks from the 20th century, including many popular titles (though not those from the most recent 15 years or so).

No library that I have a card for is on Open Library's participating libraries list, but when I log in (free registration), the top of my screen reads as follows:

Hello! The State of Pennsylvania is participating in our eBook lending program. Browse the growing lending library of over 200,000 eBooks!

And I am thus able to borrow many copyrighted books.

Looking for what could be a popular title with Mobileread members, I searched for The Once and Future King by T. H. White (died 1964, so still under copyright everywhere). Open Library has three copies. I downloaded one as an Adobe DRM ePUB, just to be sure it would work. It did. Their copy may not be as nicely formatted as the US$14.99 Kindle and Nook downloads, but when I read a few scattered paragraphs, I didn't notice scan errors. Then, since I don't really want to read the book, I returned it.

Next I went to search.overdrive.com, my usual eBook source, to see if I could borrow it that way. I could not. There are libraries in Australia, Canada, and Britain who offer Once and Future King via Overdrive, but none in the US.

I found one copyrighted title that is on my want-to-read list, is not available anywhere via Overdrive, and is listed with Open Library -- but it's marked as checked out:

http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15147511W/The_Nazarene

As far as I can tell, there is no way to put in a reserve. Do I have to periodically check back, or am I missing Open Library's reserve mechanism?

Also, I'm curious about how they can do this. Open Library seems too big and connected (see http://openlibrary.org/libraries) to ignore copyright law, but I can't see where, in their model, anyone is getting paid.

[gojisube]

Almost all of the epubs I've downloaded from Open Library have been riddled with scanning errors. So much so, that I've started downloading the pdf versions instead. Not as portable, but work okay on my ASUS tablet.

I don't ask how they are able to have certain titles, I just enjoy being able to download them.

[Athens80]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

I've just been looking at www.openlibrary.org, and there's a lot there. ...

Also, I'm curious about how they can do this. Open Library seems too big and connected (see http://openlibrary.org/libraries) to ignore copyright law, but I can't see where, in their model, anyone is getting paid.

At first glance, the FAQ and other pages seem to lay out a process in which the library (connected with archive.org) receives gifts of physical books, scans the books, and makes the digital file available to borrowers subject to legal limitations that would apply to the physical book. It seems that if they have one physical copy of the book, they will lend one and only one digital copy, while holding the physical book. But my summary is only from a quick glance at the site.

[Fbone]

Thanks for mentioning Open Library. I noticed they had several on my TBR list.

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

I found one copyrighted title that is on my want-to-read list, is not available anywhere via Overdrive, and is listed with Open Library -- but it's marked as checked out:

http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15147511W/The_Nazarene

As far as I can tell, there is no way to put in a reserve. Do I have to periodically check back, or am I missing Open Library's reserve mechanism?

I just tried Open Library yesterday and haven't seen an option of holding the book. But you can try putting your book on the wish list and see if they will be sending you an email once the book becomes available.