Q: Can I download free ebooks from my local library using, libby, overdrive or borrow books or can I only pay for , no longer cheap, books from amazon?

asked on 14 July 2017

Showing 1-5 of 5 answers

You can’t download ebooks from your library in the UK to a Kindle ereader, only a Kindle Fire tablet. You can download library eBooks to a Kobo ereader since they don’t have the same restrictions.

Your local library is the starting point. Most libraries that have ebook lending schemes seem to use overdrive. Downloading library books to a kindle ereader is tricky because you cannot download overdrive or any app to your ereader and because, unlike in the USA, there is no protocol in place for converting and sendin… see more Your local library is the starting point. Most libraries that have ebook lending schemes seem to use overdrive. Downloading library books to a kindle ereader is tricky because you cannot download overdrive or any app to your ereader and because, unlike in the USA, there is no protocol in place for converting and sending the book directly to your Amazon account for downloading. The easiest way to access library books through overdrive is to use a tablet like the Fire 7 as you can check out a book and read it within the overdrive app which you can download to the tablet. With an ereader you are stuck with downloading the book to a computer, fulfilling it through Adobe Digital Editions and then using Calibre to convert the resulting epub file to mobi before sideloading it to your kindle. It’s very convoluted. I did it for a while and then gave up as it’s too much hassle. The tablet route is much simpler. Also, as Pip said in his reply, there are other sources of free ebooks available from the likes of bookbub.com, manybooks.com and Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org). see less Your local library is the starting point. Most libraries that have ebook lending schemes seem to use overdrive. Downloading library books to a kindle ereader is tricky because you cannot download overdrive or any app to your ereader and because, unlike in the USA, there is no protocol in place for converting and sending the book directly to your Amazon account for downloading. The easiest way to access library books through overdrive is to use a tablet like the Fire 7 as you can check out a book and read it within the overdrive app which you can download to the tablet. With an ereader you are stuck with downloading the book to a computer, fulfilling it through Adobe Digital Editions and then using Calibre to convert the resulting epub file to mobi before sideloading it to your kindle. It’s very convoluted. I did it for a while and then gave up as it’s too much hassle. The tablet route is much simpler. Also, as Pip said in his reply, there are other sources of free ebooks available from the likes of bookbub.com, manybooks.com and Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org).

This will depend entirely upon the downloading policy of your local library. Otherwise, try MANYBOOKS.COM or one of the other free download sites that will have a lot of the “classic” books which are now out of copyright.