First Book Partners with White House to Offer e-Books to Children

First Book Partners with White House to Offer e-Books to Children

Through a new White House-led initiative, First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise, is helping connect children in need across the country with access to thousands of e-books.

The initiative, announced Thursday by President Obama at the Anacostia Library in Washington, is part of a broad effort to ignite kids’ love of reading by improving access to digital content and public libraries.

Through the initiative, called Open eBooks, major publishers are providing $250 million worth of e-books to children from low-income families for free, including 10,000 of their most popular titles.

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The books will be accessible through an Open eBooks app, currently being developed by the New York Public Library, the Digital Public Library of America and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Together, the organizations will curate and deliver the e-books to programs and classrooms serving low-income students.

“This historic partnership recognizes the need to increase access to books – in all their forms – to children growing up in low-income families,” said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book.

The app and all the e-books will be made available to programs and classrooms serving children in need through First Book. Anyone working in the lives of children in need is urged to sign up with First Book.

Photo courtesy: First Book