Knitting Ebooks from the Library

Kindle 2 (left) with a purchased ebook and nook Classic on the right w/ a library ebook

Lately I've been enjoying reading library ebooks about knitting and I thought I'd post how to do it. (NOTE: I uploaded larger photos to Blogger so click on any photo to see it larger.) Best of all you don't even have to have an ereader to do this; you can read ebooks on your computer or phone.

I am not planning on purchasing any more ebooks on knitting (and cooking) because they still have too many typos and formatting errors. On Amazon you can return any ebook within 7 days I think if there is a problem. After I returned about 5 Kindle cookbooks in a row I realized I should just stick to buying print versions until they can improve quality. For knitting ebooks legible charts can be a problem; the best solution I've seen for this was in the ebook Knitting Mochimochi by Anna Hrachovec. Every time there is a chart in the ebook there is also a URL  where you can print out each chart. Brilliant!



Same page from the Knitting Answer book shown on my nook and on my laptop in Adobe Digital Editions

 First check your local library. If your library does not have ebooks, check others in your state or region you might be able to join. This Wiki on Ebook Lending Libraries has a complete listing of all the libraries with ebooks and lets you know how many ebooks each facility has to offer. If you still can't find a library near you, check out the libraries that offer access to their ebook collection for a fee. Besides my wonderful local library, I'm a member of the Free Library of Philadelphia - currently the fee is $35 for out-of-state members (the card is free for everyone over 65). DH really likes the FLP because they also offer Freegal which is a free music download library. The Fairfax County Library in Virginia also offers a card for out-of-state members for $27 a year.

Once you have access to a library with ebooks, you'll need Adobe Digital Editions. Your library will provide you with a link to downloading it. This software is annoying but it is a necessary evil. Open ADE and go to your library's digital media section (Overdrive is the system that most libraries use for ebooks) and go download a book from your library. Don't despair if the book you want is not available; ebooks are very popular at libraries so you can either add the book to your wishlist or put it on hold. I haven't had to wait longer than 3 weeks for a hold so far.


You can see color photos on most ebooks when viewing in ADE on your computer

You can transfer a library ebook to your ereader through ADE or just read the ebook on your computer. There are also apps for reading library ebooks on phones. In Overdrive when the book is due it is no longer available for you to read so you don't have to worry about returning the ebook in time.