OverDrive Launches QuickStart eBook Collection to Promote Reading in Elementary Schools

CLEVELAND, OH --(Marketwired - March 14, 2016) - OverDrive, the leading eBook and audiobook platform for schools, wants all kids to become great readers. To promote reading, encourage digital learning and support literacy goals, OverDrive is partnering with award-winning publishers like Dawn Publications, Lerner Publishing Group, Britannica Digital Learning and ABDO Publishing. OverDrive's K-5 QuickStart offers young readers a premium collection of 200 eBooks, including Read-Alongs such as A Promise is a Promise, The Mallory Series and Noisy Bug Sing-Along, picture books and other engaging titles. These eBooks are instantly available with simultaneous access for every K-5 student in class, at home and everywhere, both online and offline.

K-5 QuickStart is based on OverDrive Read, the browser-based reader used by 34,000 libraries and schools worldwide. Developed especially for the youngest readers, QuickStart eBooks can be opened instantly in the browser with no software or downloads required. Students can read the same book at the same time on PCs, tablets, Chromebooks and more, inside and outside school. Designed for ultimate ease of use, it comes with an annual subscription price of just $499 per school.

The eBooks in the QuickStart collection were carefully selected and recommended by teachers to help develop life-long readers. "We worked with leading publishers and authors focused on promoting reading to develop a collection of great eBook titles, all available anytime, anywhere," said Brian Potash, manager of OverDrive Education Sales. "Read-Along eBooks powered by OverDrive are seeing tremendous success in school catalogs across the country and now young readers in K-5 QuickStart can easily follow along with these interactive titles that combine the colorful text and images of an eBook with highlighted words as the narrator reads. This helps readers better understand sentence structure, language flow and syntax."

Here's how K-5 QuickStart works:

• A premium collection of 200 eBooks, including Read-Alongs from five publishers
• Teachers/ Educators can purchase the service and have their students within days
• No app needed, students have instant access right in the browser
• eBooks instantly available both online and offline
• Easy, secure access with simple sign on designed for the youngest students
• Custom website

Contact OverDrive to learn more about K-5 QuickStart.

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 Read-Along eBooks. 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.