Accessing eBooks just got easier for students in Carbon and Lehigh County public schools. School districts partnered with Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 to provide the Overdrive eBook platform for students, enabling them to check out eBooks on any device, at any time. As technology advances, students are getting increasingly accustomed to learning on tablets, mobile devices and computers. Adapting to these changes, CLIU 21 will be the first in the state to implement the OverDrive collection of eBooks in K-12 schools in our area.

"We are thrilled to be able to provide all of our students with access to so many eBooks and Audiobooks with the Overdrive Collection. Students will be able to read on any device at any time, allowing them to utilize their two favorite things...reading and technology," says Lauren Will, Parkland High School Librarian. An extension of their physical library, students are able to scroll through a collection of hundreds of books on computers, eBook readers and other devices. Students will have 24/7 online access to audiobook and eBook downloads, with no worries about misplacing physical books or running up late fees with their library.Corry Robbins, Southern Lehigh Librarian says, "Providing OverDrive eBooks finally allows libraries to meet the students where they are, on their personal device. Parents have been asking for years why they can't load the library's Kindle books on their device, now they can!" Titles include a variety of subjects including classic and current fiction, common core aligned novels, summer reading list titles, as well as popular nonfiction titles. Students borrow and enjoy their digital library simply by logging in and having the option to read in their browser with OverDrive Read or downloading it to their computer, tablet or mobile devices such as the Apple iPod or iPad, Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook. "OverDrive is a positive step forward in providing over $30,000 worth of resources to our students using the technology they love," explains June Potts, Lehighton Librarian.Whitney Babyak, a librarian at Palmerton Area High School summarizes, "This is a great project for Carbon and Lehigh County schools. We're all so excited that our kids will have access to such a great collection developed by our librarians. Fortunately, our districts have all supported our endeavor so we were able to devote a lot of time and energy to it. It's nice to be able to work hard and see the benefits go right to our kids."Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 (CLIU) serves as the coordinating agency that brings together diverse school districts, vocational schools, businesses, higher education and community groups. Located in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, it is an Educational Service Agency created by an Act of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania to help equalize educational opportunities for all students in the Commonwealth. CLIU provides a broad range of services to fourteen public school districts, non-public schools and two Career and Technical Institutes of the Carbon and Lehigh counties. Our services include: Curriculum and Instruction, Staff Development, Educational Technologies, Special Education Services, Non-Public School and Behavioral Health Services.