Now if they would just put down the Xbox controller...
The availability of such e-books on smart phones could make a real difference if reading could only be made like Minecraft
President Obama will announce two initiatives involving the private sector that aim to expand access to digital content to low-income students, according to the White House. The Obama administration marshaled major book publishers to provide more than $250 million in free e-books to low-income students and is seeking commitments from local governments and schools across the country to ensure that every student has a library card.
Mr. Obama will roll out the programs during an appearance at the Anacostia Library in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
Several major U.S. publishers have agreed to participate, including Simon & Schuster, Bloomsbury, Macmillan, Random House-Penguin and HarperCollins. Also, nonprofits and libraries will be teaming up to produce an app that will be able deliver the digital books. The New York Public library is working with book donation nonprofit Firstbook to develop the e-reader app for these books - many of which are already in the public domain.
This is part of a broader effort by the White House, the two-year-old ConnectED program that aims to improve education through digital connectivity. The president has set a goal for ConnectED to provide 99 percent of all U.S. students to high-speed broadband in their schools and in their libraries by 2018. Thursday's announcement is estimated to draw on $2 billion from the private sector, $2 billion from FCC funding for Wi-Fi connectivity in schools and libraries and an additional $1.5 billion in annual funding.