Image via CrunchBase

Somehow I missed this. Tell me I’m not the only one? Apparently you can now take out eBooks on loan from your local library. At least you can in Monroe County, where I live. (My library allows you to rent 8 eBooks at a time, 3 weeks per book.)

So that means, for those of you toting iPads like my trusty Alice, you can loan eBooks and read them right on your iPad. At my library, all you need is the OverDrive app and an Adobe account, which you are prompted to create once you attempt to download your first eBook.

It’s not exactly the simplest process when you first try to use the app, but once you’re over the initial road bumps, it works quite well. You can download the book directly from the library’s website right to your iPad in one fell swoop.

Right now it seems there’s no OverDrive app developed specifically for the iPad, so you have to use the iPhone app on your iPad. That means that you have to enlarge the app to fit your screen, so it’s somewhat pixelated. But, it’s not that bad, all things considered, given how easy it is to download the book—and given that the book is free.

An alternative is to use the Bluefire Reader App, which is designed for the iPad. But, the download process is not as simple. You have to download the book to your computer and then transfer it to your iPad using iTunes.

Related articles

• OverDrive eReader Guide Helps Libraries Manage eBook Checkouts (suite101.com)
• OverDrive Helps Connect Libraries and Users with eBooks (appscout.com)
• eBook Checkouts at Libraries Up 200 Percent in 2010, according to OverDrive (teleread.com)
• Embracing the New Format: 7 Apps To Buy, Read and Convert eBooks (mac.appstorm.net)