Library Technology Guides

Follett Book eFairs registration now open for PreK-8 schools in US. Educators may now schedule dates for Follett Book eFairs, which it was announced last month are returning after debuting four years ago. The new iteration of online book fairs, available to all PreK-8 schools in the United States, are timed conveniently for back to school in September. [Full Announcement].

Follett's content business reintroduces itself as Follett Content Solutions. Follett Content Solutions announced it is now its own business entity. The company has a new name, logo, and website, all while staying true to its mission to empower the success of schools and get books in the hands of students. [Full Announcement].

Exclusive new service helps librarians complete book series collections. An exclusive new service from Titlewave will alert PreK-12 librarians when the latest titles in a book series have been released. The Series Notification service allows educators to receive monthly notification emails about upcoming and top-selling titles. With the new service — free to Titlewave users and available within their account settings — librarians can now conveniently shop current and previous series titles, plus receive a sneak peek into what's coming next. Beyond providing librarians an easy way to stay current, the service is crucial to students as studies show those who embrace a book series will yearn to read more about their favorite characters. Literacy experts also note an engaging series boasts the potential to help reluctant readers fall in love with books. [Full Announcement].

Follett Content launching Online Book Fair Option for every PreK-8 US school. Follett Content – a longtime literacy and school librarian advocate – today announced it will re-introduce online book fundraisers later this year, leveling the playing field and extending benefits to educators and students alike. Follett Book eFairs will be offered to all PreK-8 schools in the United States and have no minimum sales requirements, extending reach and accessibility. As an added benefit, for every dollar an online book fundraiser earns, schools will receive a percentage back in Titlewave credit that can be used to buy books to enhance both school and classroom libraries. [Full Announcement].

Noted author to explore relational teaching in June 4 virtual event. Noted author Anthony Reibel will headline a virtual event Tuesday, June 4 exploring the definitions of relational teaching and its impact on student learning. Follett Content Solutions and the McHenry County Regional Office of Education are co-sponsoring “Book Talk: Embracing Relational Teaching by Anthony Reibel,” which will be held from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT. [Full Announcement].

Relational Teaching, its impact on student learning to be Explored in April 16 Virtual Book Talk with noted author. Noted author Anthony Reibel will headline a virtual event Tuesday, April 16 exploring the definitions of relational teaching and its impact on student learning. Follett Content Solutions and the McHenry County (Illinois) Regional Office of Education are co-sponsoring “Book Talk: Embracing Relational Teaching by Anthony Reibel,” which will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. (CDT). [Full Announcement].

Follett School Solutions expands Its functionality with Livingtree acquisition. Follett School Solutions, the leading provider of K-12 educational technology solutions, announced it has acquired Livingtree, an all-in-one fundraising management platform. The acquisition, which closed in December 2023, brings together two partners experienced in providing exceptional support to learning communities. [Full Announcement].

Follett literacy program provides opportunity for classroom to connect with noted children's author. Children's authors bond with students on many levels with their books but it's not often they enjoy face-to-face contact with the young readers. Thanks to the fourth “Write to Connect” program from Follett Content Solutions, it again will become a reality for students whose teachers have nominated their classroom by the Friday, Sept. 29 deadline. The Write to Connect author for Fall 2023 is Ana Aranda, whose picture book, Our Day of the Dead Celebration, was published last September by Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books. [Full Announcement].

Chicagoland students receive back-to-school gift of new backpack, supplies. Nearly 90 Chicagoland elementary school students were sporting brand-new backpacks, filled with an array of supplies, when they started school. The annual backpack donation program is coordinated by Follett's Content Business through Communities That Care, a Lake-Zurich based non-profit organization provides key resources to children in need of assistance. The 2023 campaign generated $2,000 in donations from Follett employees, which helped provide backpacks and supplies for approximately four classrooms in need this fall. [Full Announcement].

Local organizations benefit with donations from Follett Employee Bookstore. Nearly $10,000 has been donated by Follett's Content Business to worthy causes and non-profit organizations in the community. The donations were made possible by the proceeds from sales at Edythe's Book Nook, the Follett employee bookstore that opened nine months ago. [Full Announcement].

Follett donations help breathe life Into inspiring literacy effort in The Bahamas. As a high school library media specialist in Wisconsin, Susy Siel made a positive impact on countless students in her near 30-year career. It is at Kenosha Unified School District where Follett School Solutions was introduced to her. After many years working together, it came as little surprise that she wasn't slowing down following her retirement six years ago. Follett School Solutions jumped on board early and initially sent countless shipments of books to help her fill the libraries. That effort grew dramatically when Follett suggested to Siel that she set up all her libraries as a system and offered to equip her with computers and free access to Follett Destiny Library Manager, which has been and continues to be the leading K-12 library management system. In addition to thousands of books and the Destiny online catalog, Follett also has donated laptops, barcode scanners and barcode labels for each of the libraries, plus spine labels and label protectors, and provides technology support. [Full Announcement].

Follett Literacy Conference attracts top-selling authors, librarians, teachers. Educators from around the country joined several top children's authors at ReadingCon 2023, staged recently by Follett School Solutions at Northern Illinois University, Naperville Conference Center. The professional development event featured breakout sessions addressing key topics facilitated by educators, comprised mostly of teachers and librarians, alongside the high-profile authors. [Full Announcement].

Follett Educational Foundation awards area students with scholarships. Nine high school students from two area high schools are receiving scholarships from the Follett Educational Foundation as part of two new scholarship programs for 2023 as approved by the Foundation's Board of Trustees. The scholarships are named in honor of the four sons of C.W. Follett, who took over management of Follett Corporation in 1918 and six years later purchased the company along with his wife, Edythe. All four sons worked for Follett Corp. and were integral in helping the world's largest education solutions provider evolve and grow in the ensuing decades. [Full Announcement].

Follett, World Book announce winners of Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway. Jamie Holder and Virginia's Justina Dyson have been randomly selected as winners of the “Teacher Appreciation Week Giveaway,” sponsored by Follett School Solutions and World Book, two longtime, respected leaders in the PreK-12 education market. Holder is a family and consumer science teacher at Lumberton High School in Lumberton, NC, while Dyson is a PreK teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Preschool Center in Richmond, VA. The two educators each will receive a $2,000 American Express gift card and a $500 Follett Titlewave gift certificate. Founded 25 years ago, Titlewave is the leading online collection development and curriculum support tool for PreK-12 educators, with more than 14,000 daily users. [Full Announcement].

Follett Literacy Conference to feature K-12 educators, children's authors. Follett School Solutions is bringing together educators and award-winning children's authors on Thursday, June 22 to discuss trending topics in today's K-12 schools. ReadingCon 2023, which will focus on literacy and diversity and how to make a difference in the lives of students, will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Northern Illinois University, Naperville Conference Center. [Full Announcement].

Follett makes donation to students displaced by California flooding. Follett has joined forces with Capstone to donate much-needed school supplies to the children in Pajaro, California who were displaced after their small community was flooded last month. The venerable education companies donated and shipped 1,000 books and activities to the students relocated in the wake of the Pajaro River levee break. Pajaro Middle School will remain closed for the rest of the school year due to flood damage. [Full Announcement].

Follett Program Benefitting Publishers Announces 2023 Participants. Follett School Solutions has announced its latest group of participating publishers for its Premier Partner Program, now in its seventh year. The partnership helps ensure Follett provides the most on-hand inventory in the PreK-12 space to support educators in finding and accessing the content needed for their school communities. [Full Announcement].

Follett Seeks Proposals from Educators for Reading Conference in June. Follett School Solutions is calling for proposals for 45-minute, in-person sessions to be presented at the 2023 ReadingCon conference, hosted by Follett in Naperville, Illinois. The conference is scheduled for June 22, on the eve of the ALA Annual Conference & Expo in nearby Chicago. [Full Announcement].

Follett School Solutions introduces new time-saving features for Titlewave. Titlewave from Follett School Solutions features new customer-driven enhancements, all designed to support librarians and save them valuable time in their evolving role in the school community. Follett Titlewave, which debuted in 1997 as the first K-12 library e-commerce site, is Follett's online collection development and curriculum support tool for school libraries, librarians, and educators with as many as 14,000 unique daily users. [Full Announcement].

Follett Aspen Student Information System announces new gradebook integration with Google Classroom. Grading has been made significantly easier for classroom teachers with the announcement of an integration of Follett Aspen Student Information System with Google Classroom. Teachers using Google Classroom can now export their grades conveniently to Follett Aspen SIS. [Full Announcement].