Kindles and More

For some time the Watertown Free Public Library has offered its patrons Kindles and ebooks as separate services. Now Amazon has made its popular reader and the free ebook titles compatible. The 11,000 libraries throughout the U.S. that subscribe to OverDrive now can all offer downloading on a variety of reading devices.

As part of the Minuteman Library Network we have hundreds of fiction and non-fiction ebook titles for readers of all ages. Go to our website www.watertownlib.org and click on the OverDrive button to view the digital collection. Our colleague from the Public Library of Brookline, Colin Wilson, has developed a handout for downloading to a Kindle. We have printed copies at the Reference Desk; there are other instructions on the OverDrive page that cover many other reading devices.

Since this new service for Amazon Kindles arrived, there have been many questions about privacy.

OverDrive recently released a statement that covers use of its products on Kindles and all other devices.

“OverDrive respects the privacy of all patrons, users and students (visitors). When a visitor borrows an eBook or other digital item from a library or school catalog, OverDrive does not collect or maintain any personal information. In order to check out or place a hold on a title in the library’s or school’s digital catalog, we validate the status of a visitor’s library card (active or inactive), but do not obtain any information regarding their identity from this process. Library and school website visitors have an option to supply an email address to notify them if a title on hold becomes available. This email address is not shared, is protected from unauthorized disclosure and is used only to notify the patron about the title availability.

"OverDrive works to enable the compatibility of our library and school partners’ catalogs with a variety of reading devices, platforms and apps, including third-party software applications (e.g., Adobe) and fulfillment services (e.g., Amazon). For visitors who wish to use these applications or services, these third-parties may require visitors to register using an email address to access their software or services. The visitor’s name, address and other identifying information are not required, only a valid email address. Registration can be accomplished anonymously (e.g. using a valid email address that does not require other identifiable information). Patrons who wish to read on Kindle, for example, may find it convenient to use their existing Amazon account information, but it is not required.”

Ebook contents and readers are new and exciting, but as always, “let the buyer beware.”