Brigham Young U. Suspends Kindle-Lending Program

Brigham Young University’s library will no longer let professors check out books on Kindles — at least, not until it receives written permission from Amazon, the company that makes the e-book readers.

To meet the high demand for popular new books, the library had purchased Kindles and used them to lend out digital copies. Campus officials said the university had received verbal consent from Amazon, but Brigham Young decided to put the program on hold until it received written consent.

“I understand the Inter-Library Loan Department had a few Kindles, and they set up a system to check them out as a test,” Rogen Layton, a university spokesman, told The Chronicle in an e-mail message. “Being a library, we will follow the rules and until the rules are clear we will wait.” Amazon has not responded to the university’s request for written permission, Mr. Layton said, but he did not offer further explanation of why the university had suddenly halted the program.

Library Journal reported that the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s library has been lending nine Kindles for more than a year without any argument from Amazon.

“We do not see a violation of the terms of service agreement,” Joyce Neujahr, the university’s director of patron services, told the publication.

Ms. Neujahr said the library did not feel that it needed to ask Amazon for approval. “We have purchased the content on the Kindle, and loan the Kindle just like we loan a hardcover, print book,” she said. “Whether it is on a shelf, or on a Kindle, we have still purchased the title.” — Marc Beja