Amazon doesn't want to kill local libraries, or at least that's what its newest venture would seem to indicate. A new partnership with OverDrive, slated to launch later this year, will allow patrons to borrow e-books from local libraries to read on their Kindles.
According to a press release, the Kindle Library Lending program will allow readers to borrow from over 11,000 public libraries to use on their Kindle devices or free Kindle smartphone apps. The electronic library books will even support Amazon's new Whispersync technology, which allows users to take reading notes in the margin.
Exact details of how the process would work weren't released, and neither was a launch date, but if I had to speculate I would say we're looking closer to the end of summer. A bit overdue, but a nice move nonetheless.
Though Amazon doesn't disclose how many Kindles have actually sold, it touts the e-reader as its "best selling product of all time." Total sales for 2010 have been estimated to be anywhere from 5.4 million to 8 million.
Read the full press release after the jump.
(via USA Today)
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