Discover a free online library of books and enjoy reading again

Your search for an online library of books ends here.  If you have an e-reader such as a Kindle, you can access thousands of titles digitally.  For those with low vision, Kindle e-readers offer a range of accessibility features, such as adjustable font type, size, and weight, screen brightness, margins, and line spacing, plus customizable background and text colors.

Guide to unlocking an online library of books

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog, you know that we are big fans of reading and libraries!  So we were thrilled to discover a way to borrow free library books digitally in a recent Top Tech Tidbits newsletter.  The newsletter included a link to a post on HowToGeek explaining the ins and outs of borrowing digital library books.  This option may be especially useful to anyone who has low vision, restricted mobility, or limited browsing capacity at the library due to COVID-19 restrictions.

So here goes — your 7 step guide to unlocking a free online library of books!  Just 2 quick notes before we begin: our focus is on borrowing books using an Amazon Kindle, but it’s possible to use other devices, too.  For more details, check out the HowToGeek article linked below.  Also, please be aware that some libraries may not be members of OverDrive.

1) find your participating library at overdrive.com/libraries
2) after signing in, find and borrow an available e-book (note — you’ll need your library card for this!)
3) choose “read now with kindle”
4) sign in to your amazon account
5) choose “get library book”
6) open the book on your kindle
7) enjoy!

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<picture decoding="async" heigth="2000px"> <source type="image/webp" data-lazy-srcset="https://lowvisionsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/How-to-Borrow-Library-e-Books.png.webp" srcset="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20880%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E"/> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20880%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E" heigth="2000px" width="880px" alt="Your 7 step guide to unlocking a free online library of books" data-lazy-src="https://lowvisionsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/How-to-Borrow-Library-e-Books.png"/> </picture> <noscript><picture decoding="async" heigth="2000px"> <source type="image/webp" srcset="https://lowvisionsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/How-to-Borrow-Library-e-Books.png.webp"/> <img decoding="async" src="https://lowvisionsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/How-to-Borrow-Library-e-Books.png" heigth="2000px" width="880px" alt="Your 7 step guide to unlocking a free online library of books"/> </picture> </noscript><br /> <a href="https://lowvisionsource.com/online-library-of-books/"><br /> </a></p> <p><strong>Your 7 step guide to unlocking a free online library of books</strong>, courtesy of <a href="https://lowvisionsource.com/online-library-of-books/">AdaptiVision</a></p> <p>

If you found this guide helpful, please consider sharing it via email or social media!  You can even print the infographic and hand it out to your book club.  And if you try it and have feedback for us, please drop a comment below.

Author Information

By Bethany Wyshak. Reviewed by Stuart Flom.

A lighting industry specialist, Stu Flom worked at Dolan-Jenner, a leader in fiberoptic lighting, for 15 years before launching his own company in 1994. As product manager, Stu helped find lighting solutions for clients in such diverse areas as photography, microscopy, robotics and automotive manufacturing. He was also involved in supplying the fiberoptics illuminating the Hope Diamond exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. A member of the International Society for Optics & Photonics (SPIE), Stu was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and is the author of several publications, including Integrating Optical Fibers in Machine Vision (Proceedings), Designing Fiber Optic Lighting for Machine Vision (Society of Manufacturing Engineers), and Light Up with Fiber Optics (Vision). Prior to his work in lighting, Stu was a special education teacher. Stu’s expertise in lighting and background in education form the backbone of his company. As AdaptiVision’s founder and president, Stu is dedicated to applying advanced lighting technology to assist people struggling with low vision, teaching them how to use technology to achieve greater independence.

Sources

Amazon. (n.d.). Amazon.com: Kindle Accessibility: Kindle Store. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=21346183011

Fedewa, J. (2021, June 24). How to Borrow eBooks from a Library on a Kindle for Free. How-To Geek. https://www.howtogeek.com/735643/how-to-borrow-ebooks-from-a-library-on-a-kindle-for-free/