Library head of collections Linda Geddes said the service, which she hoped would launch before Christmas, would be available externally, so people could access it from their home or work.
Members would log on to the library's website, on which would be displayed covers of the ebooks available to download.
"We will concentrate on hot fiction," she said.
Only single copies would be available "in the first instance", though the loan period and the number of ebooks available to members at one time had not been decided.
The service, run in partnership with New Zealand company Wheelers Books, would start out with a couple of hundred books and build.
Not all e-readers will be compatible with the service.
Visit www.dunedinlibraries.govt.nz for more information.
