Your Public Library Online (and How to Check Books Out Digitally)

For a long time I knew about the public library online portal, but I never used it. In truth, it’s not the most intuitive system, and I kind of like the ritual of actually going down to the library in person. But once I bit the bullet and got my Kindle synched up with the library system I was completely won over.

It was my daughter who finally pushed me into figuring it out. Not only is she reading up a storm these days, but she carries books with her everywhere, and we were always struggling to find the books and return them in time to avoid late fees. When you “check out” books digitally, they pop up on your e-reader automatically, and then, when the books are due, they simply disappear from the devise (unless you renew them for more time). It’s brilliant. 

What You Need

To make it work for you, you need three things:

1. First, an e-reader. There are many different devices these days (check out some of the best reviewed here) and if you think about the price of your average book, they pay for themselves in short order if you use them to borrow books for free.
2. Second, a public library card. This will require a trip to your local branch with some proof that you’re a resident (check the website for your local branch, or call and ask what they need to give you a card).
3. Third, an Overdrive account.

Step by Step

Once you are logged into your Overdrive account, search for the title of a book. When you find the one you want, click on it and you will see a blue button that reads “FIND in your library.” Click that.

You will then be prompted to search for your local library by typing in your zip code. At this point you feel a bit like you’re going in circles, because you will have to look up the title again, but hang in there.

Once you locate the title in your local library, you will see a blue button. It will either say “Borrow” or (if it’s not currently available) “Place a Hold.” The cool thing about the hold function is that, as soon as the book is available, it will pop up on your device and you can start reading.

The final step is to enter your library card information and then click the link to Amazon (which apparently manages the actual data transfer). If you don’t have an Amazon account you will need one, but really, if you don’t have one by now, you’re a freak and I love you.

Happy reading!