Amazon to launch library lending for Kindle

Amazon just announced that it will launch library lending for Kindle books from over 11,000 U.S. libraries, later this year.

The Kindle Library Lending feature, available for all Kindles and Kindle apps, will enable users of Kindle e-readers and apps to check out books from their local libraries. Kindle has free downloadable apps for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.

“We’re doing a little something extra here,” Jay Marine, Amazon’s Kindle director, said in a news release.

“Normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we’re extending our Whispersync technology so that you can highlight and add margin notes to Kindle books you check out from your local library.

Amazon is yet to announce a more specific time frame for launch of the service.

Meanwhile, online reports say that although Amazon does not reveal how many Kindles have actually sold it plugs the e-reader as its “best selling product of all time.” Total sales for 2010 have been estimated to be anywhere from 5.4 million to 8 million.

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