Kindle users also get some loan features not offered by other e-book formats--for example, borrowed books can be downloaded from almost anywhere using Amazon's Whispersync wireless network.
Users can also highlight passages, add notes, and bookmark pages in the books, without worrying about defacing the actual book. Highlights, notes, and bookmarks are stripped from the book when your time with a volume ends, but Amazon saves them on its servers for if you ever happen to borrow the book again.
Amazon did not release a list of libraries participating in the program, but you can search for a library using OverDrive's website. OverDrive, which is based in Cleveland, operates a network that provides e-books to libraries around the world.
Kindle books will be seamlessly integrated into the existing e-book inventories available to the library, OverDrive Director of Marketing David Burleigh explained to PCWorld. "When you browse your library's collection, you'll see what formats are available," he said. "It could be ePub or PDF or now Kindle."
Amazon cited a number of features available to borrowers of Kindle books, including:
- Real page numbers that correspond to the numbers in the printed editions of the book.
- Facebook and Twitter integration so you can share your favorite passages from a book with your online friends.
- Popular Highlights show you what millions of Kindle readers think are some of the most interesting passages in your books.
- A forum to post public notes so you can share your thoughts and learn about what other readers think about a book.
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