Amazon.com Launches Digital Lending Library for Kindle Owners

Amazon has launched a digital book lending library. The library is available to owners of its Kindle devices (either the older models are the new Kindle Fire which ships in less than two weeks). You must also be a subscribers to its $79-a-year Amazon Prime program. The Wall Street Journal's Jeffrey Trachtenberg discusses how it works and why the big book publishers aren't all that thrilled about the project.

There are 5,000 titles available to start, but more titles will be added. Titles now available include Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Big Short by Michael Lewis, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. F+W Media Inc. and Lonely Planet are featured partners, so there is quite a bit of reference works, as well.

Amazon had this to say about the deals it has cut with publishers: Amazon was frank about the terms of the deal with publishers: "Titles in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library come from a range of publishers under a variety of terms. For the vast majority of titles, Amazon has reached agreement with publishers to include titles for a fixed fee. In some cases, Amazon is purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader under standard wholesale terms as a no-risk trial to demonstrate to publishers the incremental growth and revenue opportunity that this new service presents."

If you are already an Amazon Prime member, this is a fantastic new benefit. There is no time limit on how long you keep each book, but you can't rent a new one until you turn in the old one. And you are capped at 12 titles a year. 12 free books a year? Works for us. Take a look: