A group of libraries led by the Internet Archive recently developed a joint collection of more than 80,000 ebooks for lending on OpenLibrary.org, a site where it's already possible to read over 1 million eBooks without restriction. During a library visit, patrons with an OpenLibrary.org account can borrow any of these lendable eBooks using laptops, reading devices or library computers. The initiative is expected to increase eBook use and revenue for publishers.
The new digital lending system will enable patrons of participating libraries to read books in a web browser. Any OpenLibrary.org account holder can borrow up to 5 eBooks at a time, for up to 2 weeks. Books can only be borrowed by one person at a time. People can choose to borrow either an in-browser version (viewed using the Internet Archive's BookReader web application), or a PDF or ePub version, managed by the free Adobe Digital Editions software.
This new technology follows the lead of the Google eBookstore, which sells books from many publishers to be read using Google's books-in-browsers technology. Readers can use laptops, library computers and tablet devices including the iPad.
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