Gay's Guide to the Library: Part Four - Stop Paying for e-books!
By Sam Ehlinger (They/them)
Okay so part four of this column was always going to be about how to get access to more e-books, but the timing of it has gotten more urgent than ever.
Before I get into accessing e-books through the library I want to talk about some important changes coming for Kindle users, because I know that’s how many people access e-books.
Get ready queers: we are on a deadline!
Many of you probably use Kindle for e-books and a big change is coming so it’s time to take action.
Starting on Feb. 26, you will not be able to take your e-books out of the Amazon ecosystem (see the screenshot below). They will be disabling the download feature, which was the only way for people to retain access to the Kindle books they purchased outside of the Amazon universe. Essentially what this means is that after Feb. 26 you won’t be able to take your Kindle books out of Amazon and read them on another device.
Why is it bad for us to have our books in a corporate-owned ecosystem with no backup copies? As Rahaf Harfoush, a member of France’s National Digital Council, pointed out in an Instagram video: Because Amazon can remove books or make changes to them.
We don’t actually own our Kindle books – they are technically licensed to us according to Kindle’s Terms of Use: “Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider.”
Amazon is actually able to make changes to that content or service according to its Terms of Use: “We may change, suspend, or discontinue the Service, in whole or in part, including adding or removing Subscription Content from a Service, at any time without notice. We may amend any of this Agreement's terms at our sole discretion by posting the revised terms on the Amazon.com website.”
If you were trying to move away from Amazon, and just hadn’t had the time to figure it out, now is the time to make the move before it becomes impossible to move your existing library away from Amazon.
One good way to help with your Amazon breakup: getting free e-books from the library!
But first: how do you get your e-books off of Amazon? This article gives you step-by-step instructions and some troubleshooting tips.
Once you have your books downloaded, and have moved them to a new device, do you want to download some library books? You should!
Library e-books are FREE!
Library apps for e-books
The apps you want to take a look at are Libby and Hoopla. Both Champaign Public Library and The Urbana Free Library have the apps available to library card holders, so you can use them if you have a card from one of those libraries.
For a how-to on downloading Libby on to your specific device, check out this super useful tutorial. On the right-hand side, you can select the instructions specific to your device.
For more info on how Hoopla works, check out this tutorial.
Why do I want both apps?
The two apps work in different ways. A book checked out from Libby basically works like a normal library book, it’s just digital. You might have to wait for someone to finish it first before you get to check it out, but you can put it on hold and see where you are in the queue.
With Hoopla, you get instant access to the content you check out, but there is a limit to the number of items you can check out per month.
Between these two apps, you can have a sizable selection of books checked out at once.
What can I check out on these apps?
There are e-books, audiobooks, magazines and graphic novels.
There are fiction and nonfiction titles on both apps, and the audiobooks are a great feature!
Did I mention the audiobooks? I know I did twice already, but I feel like people don’t talk about them enough and they are really cool! It’s great to listen to an audiobook while you cook or vacuum or fold laundry or whatever boring task needs doing.
What if I don’t have an e-reader?
Did you know that you don’t actually need to have an e-reader to use e-books? If you have a smartphone or tablet with the Apple or Android app store you can download these apps!
I still want to pay for e-books. What do I do if not Amazon?
Sigh. But I get it. The holds queues for the sapphic romances can be rough in this town.
There are other e-readers (like Kobo or Boox) that have their own stores, and many presses sell e-books through their websites that you can read on your computer. Sometimes you have to download software to read the file though, so be sure to check that stuff out before purchasing.
Ready? Get to downloading your books!
And check back in for part five, where I’m going to be talking about library-inspired date ideas!