Open eBooks Initiative

The White House issued a press release this past week announcing the Open eBooks Initiative.  In a nutshell, public libraries and major publishers have joined forces to offer a free digital library to students from low income households.  While public libraries have been offering access to ebooks for years, I still have students that are reluctant to apply for a library card.  In addition, people that borrow ebooks have to be a bit tech savvy, as it involves downloading multiple apps.  This initiative breaks down these barriers.

I just registered for and received Open eBook codes for all of my students.  Here are the steps:

•  If you don't already have a FirstBook account, register for one here.
• Visit the FirstBook Marketplace and order your free codes and PINs.  You can choose to give your students access to the elementary school collection, middle school collection, high school collection or all collections.
•  Instruct your students to download the Open eBooks app from either iTunes or Google Play.
• Issue a code and PIN to each student.  When you receive your codes and PINs, you will receive a letter (in English and Spanish) that you can download, print and send home if you choose to do so.