Kindle users also get some loan features not offered by other e-book formats--for example, borrowed books can be downloaded from almost anywhere using Amazon's Whispersync wireless network.

Users can also highlight passages, add notes, and bookmark pages in the books, without worrying about defacing the actual book. Highlights, notes, and bookmarks are stripped from the book when your time with a volume ends, but Amazon saves them on its servers for if you ever happen to borrow the book again.

Amazon did not release a list of libraries participating in the program, but you can search for a library using . OverDrive, which is based in Cleveland, operates a network that provides e-books to libraries around the world.

"Kindle compatibility will allow public and school libraries to serve millions of new readers and extend their valuable community role while providing an outstanding reading experience," OverDrive CEO Steve Potash said in a . "This addition helps public libraries accelerate their drive to become the first online stop for e-books, where visitors can browse, discover and sample new and popular titles and authors in virtually all subjects."

Kindle books will be seamlessly integrated into the existing e-book inventories available to the library, OverDrive Director of Marketing David Burleigh explained to PCWorld. "When you browse your library's collection, you'll see what formats are available," he said. "It could be ePub or PDF or now Kindle."