In Response to COVID-19 Impact on Education, Follett to Deliver Free At-Home Learning Content During Crisis

Follett, a trusted partner to PreK-12 schools, public libraries, and college campuses for more than 145 years, is working with customers to ensure they can quickly and easily use the company’s wide range of eLearning solutions and access to content as more students shift to learning from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“As we all navigate through these unprecedented times, we want educators and parents to know they’re not alone, said Patrick Connolly, President and CEO of Follett Corporation. “Follett offers a variety of eLearning products for both PreK-12 and Higher Ed that can be quickly and easily accessed. These are solutions customers already have access to, and our goal is to ensure they know about all their options to help with the continuity of education.”

Here is a closer look at Follett’s company-wide eLearning resources that are being made available at libraries, schools, and universities in communities across North America affected by the COVID-19 virus:

Follett School Solutions (PreK-12)

Follett has created a resource page outlining the array of eLearning solutions, including Follett Collections by Destiny^®, Follett Destiny Discover^®, WebPath Express™, and more. Video tutorials, forums, and instructions for accessing these solutions are also available.

To help schools with eLearning during the closures, Follett announced March 11 it is waiving the cost for current Destiny customers through June 30 for its Classroom Ready Collections (CRC), which are standards-aligned, educator-curated Open Educational Resources (OERs) that include lesson plans, activities, videos, and worksheets. More than 2,300 free CRC licenses have been activated in less than a week.

Follett Higher Education Group (FHEG)

For public and private colleges and universities, Follett has the nationwide scale and capabilities to help institutions provide needed course materials through the company’s technology platforms and content partnerships. During this period of crisis, Follett is providing the following support:

• Free access to ebooks. As part of its partnership with RedShelf, a leading ebook provider, FHEG will offer full free ebook access to students on Follett-managed college campuses in support of online learning, reaching as many as eight million students through 2,700 physical and virtual locations. Students must have an “.edu” email address at a not-for-profit, semester-system school, and there is a limit of seven ebook units per student.
• Free online shipping. To facilitate better access to course materials and general merchandise, Follett will continue its free shipping of online orders to the U.S. and Canada from any of its 1,200 campus locations and 1,800 virtual sites. Despite campus closures, Follett’s online operations for each campus location will remain open for orders. Visit efollett.com to find participating schools.
• Free access to OER courseware. Follett partner Lumen Learning is offering free use of its courseware for classes transitioning to online delivery in the middle of the term and full support throughout the transition. Lumen’s courseware is designed to remove barriers and improve success for at-risk students in digital environments, and its catalog includes more than 50 general education subjects. Visit the site to learn more and take advantage of this offer.

Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor enables public libraries to share digital collections with schools through its digital online platform called Community Share. Public libraries opt in to the Community Share program, allowing for a seamless integration between the local library’s Axis 360 ebook collection and Follett Destiny. This provides students with immediate access to an expanded selection of age- and grade-appropriate content.

Baker & Taylor also is working with its public library partners to place the company’s innovative Pop-Up Library boxes at grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals to continue providing the best literature to people while social distancing is being encouraged. Pop-Up Library is a small network device that creates instant access to a library’s Axis 360 collection.

All Follett customers are encouraged to contact their Follett representative with questions, support requests, and more details.