Last month Amazon launched the ability for readers to share eBooks on Kindle and now there’s a new community site for Kindle readers looking to share and lend eBooks.
The site, called BookLending, allows readers to share their eBooks and search for titles that other readers have shared, as well as send out reading requests to others. The site allows book borrowers and lenders to hook up after which the borrower can download the title directly to their Kindle or Kindle app. After 14 days, the book is automatically returned to its owner.
As most people get paper books to read by borrowing from friends, family and co-workers, it makes perfect sense for online book companies to create applications for them to do the same with eBooks.
If you don’t have a Kindle, there’s no need to worry since Amazon has provided Kindle applications for Windows/Mac, and OS/Android/BlackBerry/Windows Phone 7 owners.
Currently publishers have to enable lending, so not all ebooks are available to be shared, but overtime we should see the quality and quantity of shared books rise along with the number of users willing to share them.
With all the cost cutting exercises being enforced by the current government, could this become the library of the future?
