Is it possible to rent ebooks (similar to Overdrive?)

[MickeyC]

forkyfork do you live near the counties that have the libraries you are interested in? I ask because, for example, I live in Alexandria, VA which does not lend out eBooks. However, the Fairfax library does.

So, I drove over to the Fairfax main library and said to the librarian, "I live in Alexandria but I come in peace." When she stopped giggling I asked about borrowing eBooks and , after checking my driver's license, she promptly issued me a library card. The rule is that, as long as you live in a jurisdiction that borders on Fairfax, you can join their library. Ditto, Washington DC

Similar rules may apply where you live.

[elfwood]

Dordale,

You are right, eNYPL has almost 12000 e-books in the catalog, but if you run a search on these parameters

adobe ebooks/English/last 180 days
you'll see they've added only 85 titles

They've obviously changed the ratio of e-books to audiobooks in the last couple of years.

One thing about the collection that I find most aggravating is that they begin a series of books in the adobe format, then throw in a few volumes in audiobook format. So you may be able to get volumes 1 and 3, but not volume 2.

Another weakness is that many of the ebooks are things that can be found at other free sources--like Project Gutenberg US--old titles like those of Arthur Conan Doyle that are no longer under copyright. Using processing time and space for the latter seems like an utter waste to me.

Don't get me wrong, it's the best of its kind that I've yet found, I just wish they'd use a little most common sense in their collection development.

elfwood

[Who are you?]

Be sure to check https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBook_Lending_Libraries and http://www.bing.com/search?q=site:libwise.com for a list of library sites you might be able to join for a fee.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by elfwood

Dordale,

You are right, eNYPL has almost 12000 e-books in the catalog, but if you run a search on these parameters

adobe ebooks/English/last 180 days
you'll see they've added only 85 titles

They've obviously changed the ratio of e-books to audiobooks in the last couple of years.

elfwood

elfwood--

Unfortunately, you'll find this is true of almost all libraries. By virtue of being a California resident, I have access to quite a few libraries. Most libraries carry far more audio books than ebooks. In fact, there are several libraries that don't offer any ebooks at all.

I do like to listen to audio books as well as read ebooks, so I'm glad I have downloadable access to them from my library(ies) but do wish that the downloadable ebook collections were more robust.

About a year ago, I paid the non-resident fee of $100 to join the NYPL because of their superior collection of ebooks they have. I'm a little disappointed that it sounds like NYPL is no longer offering this, so shortly my membership there will expire.

I do hope that with more and more libraries adding ePub to their collections and more and more dedicated reading devices supporting ePub, we'll see ebook collections at libraries start to grow.

dordale

[elfwood]

Dordale,

eNYPL now has a small number of epub books. I haven't checked the entire holdings, which you can do by setting the correct search parameters, but I did check Science Fiction and Fantasy and found less than a dozen. This is a new format for them and I assume they'll be adding more titles.

Again, I would encourage everyone to pay the fee for out of area service. Libraries are about the cheapest entertainment around and the usual annual fee is only the price of about four hardcovers.

elfwood

[dordale]

Elfwood--

Thanks for posting that. I did check out NYPL's new ePub selection and it's at a total of 467 books. Not bad for books added at one time! I like reading mysteries and thrillers and they actually have a fair number of these in ePub format.

Only downside for me is that I'm a "non-resident" and from what I've read here NYPL is no longer offering non-resident cards and will not be renewing them. My year will be up sometime this month, so I expect my card will quit working any day now.

dordale

[SteveK]

Dordale - Unfortunately you are correct. I even checked with them to ask if existing cardholders could be "grandfathered" in, but no such luck. You'll get the full benefit of your subscription as it won't be canceled early, but it also won't be renewed.

SteveK

[volwrath]

I wonder what makes all these sites different. The site I have access to: http://reads.lib.overdrive.com looks to be the same as CLEVNET yet clevnet has twice as many books. eNYPL on initial glance looks like overdrive.com, so I dont really see a huge loss there (please forgive me if I am wrong). Even CLEVNET looks like overdrive (same basic format) so I guess I dont get it.

Also on the sit I have access to, it is so hard to find content work reading. The browsability is nil

[dordale]

volwrath--Overdrive provides e-books and downloadable audiobooks to libraries. Individual libraries decide what library books they want to offer and pay Overdrive fees for the books. Some libraries offer fairly robust selections and some offer minimal selections.

You can check for books and/or libraries at http://search.overdrive.com/ to see which libraries offer which books.

dordale

[acastillo]

Helpful information to a very limited number of readers (but it helped me).

The library system here in Amarillo, Texas does not offer ebooks; however the Lubbock public library (a city about 120 miles away) offered library cards to any Texas resident (not only city or county residents), http://library.ci.lubbock.tx.us/libCard.aspx . The Lubbock library is even offered ePub books! So during my next trip through Lubbock, I stopped off and got my library card and now I'm set for ebook rentals.

So my suggestion is to check the web sites of nearby cities to see if there are nearby options that might be of use to you.

[dordale]

Good suggestion acastillo!

I live in California, and I know most (if not all) California public libraries offer library cards to any resident of California. I've already collected quite a few in Northern California. If I ever make it down to Southern CA, I'll add to my collection.

dordale

[omega3]

I live in Germany and asked the New York Public Library if it is possible to borrow ebooks from them to read on my Sony reader.

Here is their today's reply:

"Sorry, but non-residents who do not qualify for an NYPL library card will not be able to access our ebooks on any device including Sony E-readers.
As of July 2009 the NYPL is no longer offerring non-resident paid cards. NYPL library cards are only available to persons who live, work, attend school or pay property taxes in New York State.

We are sorry for the inconvenience."

[BuddyBoy]

Originally Posted by omega3

"Sorry, but non-residents who do not qualify for an NYPL library card will not be able to access our ebooks on any device including Sony E-readers.
As of July 2009 the NYPL is no longer offerring non-resident paid cards. NYPL library cards are only available to persons who live, work, attend school or pay property taxes in New York State.

All those years of paying property tax on an old family cottage 3000 miles away finally pays off.

Edited to add: Hey I wonder if paying property tax on timeshares counts too? I have a couple of those in various states. Hmmmmm.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

The eBooks time out after 21 days. So after 21 days, I can no longer access the book. If I want to keep the book longer than 21 days, I have to check the book out again after the book has timed out.

Shhhh... don't tell anyone, but I've gotten around that little snafu by changing the date on my reader to a much earlier time.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by elfwood

And if you are considering piggybacking off a New York resident's e-card, give the library a break--they are facing funding cuts like nothing you could believe--a hundred a year is little enough to pay for having up to 12 books checked out at one time for a 21-day period.

I wonder how much the NYPL actually collects from taxes per NY resident from a library card. Id' think that it's more likely that they only get less money from the residents and more from out of state library card holders so they don't lose money, but gain revenue from the out of state subscribers.