NEWS RELEASES > JUNE 5, 2020
BY SHANNON MAUGHAN, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For the past couple of months, as the world has grappled with stay-at-home orders and self-isolation in light of the COVID-19 crisis, PW has been reporting on the many ways that publishers and education companies are providing resources for educators, students, and families doing schoolwork at home. We checked in with a number of these companies to see how their efforts are going, what they’ve learned from this experience, and what summer and a new school year might look like.
Taking stock
Across the board, content providers we contacted in both the educational and trade segments of the industry reported that they’ve seen very high demand for their free digital resources since mid-March, when many schools and libraries were first forced to close their doors.
Students who are able to access digital materials from home “are definitely taking advantage of the free resources we’ve made available,” Britten Follett, Executive Vice President of Follett School Solutions, says. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, she notes, “We’ve seen nearly 10,000 schools sign up for our free offer of Classroom Ready Collections [standards-aligned open educational resources in various subjects] and nearly 30,000 register for access to the 1,000 free Lightbox [interactive eBook] titles.”
September 29, 2026
McHenry, Ill., 09/29/2026 – Follett Content and United Way of Greater McHenry County today announced that their annual book sale fundraiser generated $30,772 to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free monthly books to children from birth to age five. The total more...
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September 14, 2026
One-day sale offers thousands of books at bargain prices while supporting literacy opportunities for local children.McHenry, Ill., 9/14/2026 – Follett Content, in proud partnership with United Way of Greater McHenry County, is excited to welcome the community to its Public Book...
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July 14, 2026
McHenry, Ill. – July 14, 2026 – Follett Content, a leading provider of PreK-12 literacy resources, supported Page Ahead’s 2026 Book Up Summer program, helping distribute 79,959 books to 10,220 students across 50 schools throughout Washington state.Book Up Summer is...
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Follett Content Team Raises Funds for CASA of McHenry County Through Employee Bookstore
June 24, 2026
McHenry, Ill. – June 24, 2026 – Follett Content, a leading provider of PreK-12 literacy resources, announced a $1,013 donation to Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of McHenry County, generated through proceeds from employee purchases at Edythe’s Book Nook (EBN), its...
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Follett Content Launches tonies + Book Bundles for Libraries
June 23, 2026
McHenry, Ill., June 23, 2026 – Follett Content, a leading provider of content and services for public and school libraries, today announced the launch of tonies® + Book Bundles, a new offering now available for purchase by libraries.Developed in collaboration...
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Follett Content Celebrates 25 Years as an ALA Library Champion at ALA Annual 2026
June 10, 2026
McHenry, Ill., June 10, 2026 – Follett Content, a trusted partner to public and school libraries nationwide, today announced its participation in the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, taking place June 25-29, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago. This year marks...
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