The Maze Runner, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Book Thief most popular eBooks in schools

 

AT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS (AASL) NATIONAL CONFERENCE, COLUMBUS, OHIO – November 4, 2015 – Digital content now has a stronghold in schools. eBooks, as well as digital audiobooks, have become a vital component to promote reading and support literacy goals in more than 12,000 schools and districts across the country. School librarians are successfully navigating this digital shift by using popular digital content in a variety of innovative ways, including digital novel sets and reading programs.

To learn more, visit the OverDrive booth 629 at the AASL National Conference, November 5-7.

Students and educators now have digital access to many of the same top publishers that schools use in print via the industry’s highest-rated app and on all major eReading devices, computers, tablets and smartphones. Here are the some of the most popular eBooks and audiobooks used in schools and districts in 2015 (according to OverDrive):

  1. The Maze Runner (Random House Children’s Books)
  2. Wonder (Random House Children’s Books)
  3. The Fault in Our Stars (Penguin Young Readers Group)
  4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Amulet Books)
  5. Divergent (HarperCollins)

Top Digital Novel Sets

  1. The Book Thief(Random House Children’s Books)
  2. A Raisin in the Sun(Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
  3. The Namesake (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
  4. Animal Farm(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
  5. The Giver(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

More than five million students from 41 countries are enjoying access to digital books from OverDrive this school year and librarians are increasing integration and creative adoption of eBooks and audiobooks in school libraries and classrooms. For example, Heim Middle School (HMS), a part of the Williamsville Central School District in New York, begins each day with a 20 minute reading session using eBooks from their school library on their 1:1

devices. “It’s been a fabulous program for us,” said David Sala, Library Media Specialist at HMS. “The eBooks and audiobooks have been well received by the entire school community, as evident by students reading more and the enthusiasm shown by teachers for the learning opportunities they offer.” Williamsville’s digital library now features more than 2,000 titles, with the focus on popular children’s and YA fiction.

District and school digital library websites powered by OverDrive, the leading supplier of eBooks and audiobooks to schools and libraries, have shown substantial growth for schools in the past year. Now offering content in 50 languages and in all subjects, the 2 million digital titles in the OverDrive catalog includes more than 54,000 new eBooks and audiobooks that have been added this year.

Visit OverDrive at AASL in Columbus, Ohio November 5-7 at booth #629. Orange City School District (OH) librarians, Joanna McNally and Betsey Lee, and OverDrive’s Director of Education, Herb Miller, will present, “Engaging Students and Staff with Digital Content,” 7 a.m. – 7:50 a.m. Friday, November 6 at the Columbus Convention Center, Room D130.  RSVP is required.

 

About OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading digital distribution platform, supplying the industry’s largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, streaming video and periodicals to 34,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide. We support all major computers and devices, including iOS®, Android™, Chromebook™ and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive delivers all digital media on a single platform, and offers innovations such as OverDrive Read, the breakthrough EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience, and narrated eBooks (Read-Alongs).  Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and is owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten. For more information, visit www.overdrive.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and our blog.

Contact:

David Burleigh

Director of Marketing & Communications

dburleigh@overdrive.com

216-573-6886 ext. 218

 

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