Libraries of tomorrow

A random thought/idea came to me today.

Last year Amazon began allowing loaning books between Kindle users. In addition they just announced (this week I believe) that libraries will now be able to purchase Kindle versions, for patrons to borrow and read on any Kindle enabled device.

(FREE software is available to read Kindle books on iPhone, iPad, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry, Android and Windows Phone devices.)

You can loan a book to anyone with an e-mail address via the Kindle Manager (as long as the publisher has enabled lending).

So as I was thinking about how this might be an awesome avenue for sharing ideas and material with not just my friends next door, but my friends across the pond, I started thinking…

What if we replaced the church libraries (or even school libraries) of yesteryear and created new libraries that are Kindle (or e-book) ready for the community?

What if instead of taking up tons of shelf-space to offer books for the community to borrow, we simply invested in e-versions of the books and loaned them out instead.

Borrowers would have 7-14 days to read the book and then the book would automatically be returned to the “library” for the next user.

And it wouldn’t even have to be a single “church library” either.

Members of the community could simply buy and read the books they want and then share that information in a common database so the books can be shared freely among the community.

With the electronic sharing, folks would never have to worry about “Who has my book?” or “When will I get it back?” The books will automatically be returned in 14 days.

Imagine… missionaries or students around the world having access to books and materials from the “global Church library.”

All they would need is an email address and access to a computer or device with an internet connection and the reading software installed.

What do you think? Could a system like this work in your community? Or even more specifically in your faith community? Could it work on a broader sense with a faith network around the world?

Now we just need to get the authors and publishers to get on board and allow loaning of their books between Kindle users.

UPDATE: Church Drop just posted on this and one reader commented that he lists his entire Kindle collection on his website to allow folks to borrow the books. And here’s his page/info on lending Kindle books.

UPDATE 2: From Amazon – Is lending available internationally?
At this time, Kindle book lending can only be initiated by customers residing in the United States. If a loan is initiated to a customer outside the United States, the borrower may not be able to accept the loan if the title is not available in their country due to publisher geographical rights.

In these cases the borrower will be notified of this during the Loan redemption process, and the book reading and lending rights will return to the lender at the end of seven days from loan initiation. You can always check the status of a loan by viewing the book on the Manage Your Kindle page.