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How to Check Out a Kindle eBook From Your Public Library

I recently tried Amazon Prime, because with Prime you can check out Kindle eBooks from the Kindle Owners Lending Library. It turns out, however, that I can check out only one book per month from the Lending Library. If you have a public library card, chances are you can check out Kindle eBooks from there. (If not, contact them and encourage them to start making Kindle books available. Here's how I check out Kindle books from my library.

Browsing Your Library's Kindle Book Offerings

My public library is a member of the Utah Pioneer Digital Library. I have this page bookmarked in my browser (shown below; to see an enlarged version of any image, please click on the image).



Utah Pioneer Digital Library Download Start Page

In the left-hand margin of the page shown above is a graphic link entitled "Now Available--Library eBooks for Kindle". You can click on that graphic to begin, but a better way to search is to click on the Advanced Search link near the top left corner of the page, which reveals the Advanced Search page, as shown below.







Advanced Search Page






Specify "Kindle Book" as the format and click search (feel free to specify other search options as desired). A typical search results page will look like the following.





Search Results

Checking Out or Placing a Hold on a Kindle Library Book

For each Kindle book in your search results, you will be able to



  • Add to Cart - The first step in checking out your book for a 7-, 14-, or 21-day period.
  • Place a Hold - Be put on the waiting list to receive a copy of the book when it becomes available
  • Sign in to Check Availability - This appears to indicate that your particular library may have copies in addition to what is generally available on the Pioneer Digital Library site
If you click on  "Place a Hold" or "Sign in to Check Availability", you will be presented with the following screen from which to select your library.





Select Your Library


Once you've selected your library, you will be presented with a page asking you to sign in to your library.
Sign Into Your Library
If you click on a book's "Add to Cart" link, you will see a page similar to the following.



Once you click on the "Proceed to Checkout" link, you will see a page similar to the following, where you will be allowed to select whether you want the book checked out to you for 7, 14, or 21 days (the Amazon site allows you to return the book sooner than the end of the checkout period, which will be explained below).



Once you click the Confirm Checkout button, you will see a page similar to the following



At this point, the book is checked out to you and your selected checkout period begins.  Click the "Get for Kindle" button. If you wish to come back and download the book later, click the "My Account" link at the top of the page, and then click the "Currently Checked Out" link, where you can then click the "Get for Kindle" button.
Currently Checked Out - Download Book

Downloading Your Kindle Library Book
When you click on the "Get for Kindle" button, you will be transferred an Amazon page similar to the following. (Note: You do NOT need to be an Amazon Prime member to check out public library Kindle books.)
Get Your Book

Once you click on the “Get Library Book” Link, you will see a confirmation page similar to the following.
Download Confirmation





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