President Barack Obama has recently announced a new program that intends to make more than 10,000 e-books accessible to financially strapped school children across the U.S.
The White House plans to work with publishers and libraries for the project. This modest plan is part of a strategy that aims to address inner city problems through increased educational opportunities for kids - a problem highlighted with the recent riots in Baltimore.
The $250 million project involves a number of publishers, including the five major publishing houses: Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH's Macmillan, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster Inc., Penguin Random House, Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group Inc, and News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers LLC.
The New York Public Library is developing an app that will connect kids to the books, and Obama intends to urge more communities to find ways to get kids into libraries.
"If we're serious about living up to what our country is about, then we have to consider what we can do to provide opportunities in every community, not just when they're on the front page, but every day," said Jeff Zients, Obama's top economic adviser, Reuters reported.
Zients further cited research showing that 80 percent of low-income children are delayed from their grade level in terms of reading skills, and that most lack books at home.
Of course, to access the e-books, kids will need computers and similar devices to read. Zients noted several previously-announced White House programs that aim to upgrade Internet services for schools and libraries. These programs already have private sector help from companies including Apple, which pledged $100 million in devices to low-income schools.
Cecilia Muñoz, Obama's domestic policy adviser, said there is an increasing amount of kids using these digital devices, adding that this project is a way to ensure that kids have access to more books on these devices.
Engadget reported that the publishers will make age-appropriate books available from their online libraries. However, it is still unclear as to whether the e-title will be given away or simply checked out, similar to how traditional libraries lend books.
