Hi,

Today I listened in on DPLA’s webinar call about the Open eBooks Initiative. It sounds like a great project, and I wanted to make sure you are aware of it. It is part of the White House ConnectED program, but the working end is a partnership between Digital Public Library of America, NYPL, and First Book. “Open eBooks adds to existing efforts to help kids develop a love of reading and discovery by making eBooks available to children and youth from low-income families.”

Here are three questions from the Q&A that can serve as an overview:

What is Open eBooks?
Open eBooks will contain hundreds of public domain titles that are free for all kids. What makes Open eBooks different is that it will also contain thousands of popular and award-winning titles that will be free for unlimited usage by low-income students. These eBooks can be read in an unlimited fashion, without checkouts or holds. Children from low-income areas can access these eBooks, which include some of the most popular works of the present and past, and read as many as they like without incurring any costs. Access to these books will serve as a gateway to even more reading, whether at libraries, bookstores, or through other ebook reading apps.

NYPL is creating an app that will enable children to read eBooks on a wide variety of devices, including tablets that have been donated as part of the President’s ConnectED initiative and on the smartphones that are increasingly used by Americans at all income levels.

First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that already provides millions of print books to classrooms and programs serving children in need, will provide full access to its network of 175,000 educators and program leaders serving children from low-income families, and identify additional programs that can take advantage of the eBooks program.

DPLA’s national network of librarians and cultural heritage organizations will help coordinate books for inclusion in the program. The DPLA Collection Curation Corps will craft the collection to ensure a diverse, compelling, and appropriately target set of thousands of titles—something for every child to read, enjoy, and learn from.

How will it work?
Low-income youth will have unlimited access to titles in the app. To get access to the app, they—or an adult working with them—will download the app and enter credentials provided by a person registered with First Book to enable access to the eBooks.

What qualifies an adult to register?
Adults who work with low-income youth in libraries, schools, shelters and clinics, out-of-school programs, military family programs, early childhood programs, and other capacities can qualify for credentials for Open eBooks through First Book.

For example, a teacher at a school at which 70 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch will be able to receive credentials for the Open eBooks system. The Open eBooks registration will be linked to the teacher/caregiver, not to individual readers.

FYI,

Jen

Jennifer Maurer

School Library Consultant

Oregon State Library

250 Winter Street NE

Salem, OR 97301

503.378.5011

jennifer.maurer@state.or.us

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Summer Reading 2015