The State Library of Kansas announced today that it has acquired a library of more than 500 e-books on major school subjects for grades K-5 from Britannica Digital Learning (BDL) and is making them available to all residents statewide.

 The Britannica e-book collection consists of curriculum-aligned, age-appropriate volumes for each grade in science, social studies, language arts and other core subjects. Most are lavishly illustrated and have been rigorously compiled by the editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

 Through Britannica’s E-Stax™ platform, all residents of Kansas have unlimited access to all titles 24/7 from any Internet-connected computer, tablet or mobile device at. Students and teachers may use the Britannica e-books in the classroom or at home, after school, or anywhere else at anytime.

 In acquiring Britannica’s entire K-5 e-book collection, the library said it was responding vigorously to the growing need for high-quality, non-fiction texts in schools today. 

 “This reflects the State Library’s commitment to the students, teachers and families of Kansas to make high-quality digital resources available to everyone statewide,” said State Librarian Jo Budler. “Today’s students need resources that will help them master decoding, reading comprehension, vocabulary and critical-thinking skills. It is best if they are able to access these resources whenever and wherever they want them. We intend to meet that need and keep Kansas on the leading edge of educational change.”

Accessing the Britannica e-book collection is easy.  Kansas residents can sign up for a Kansas Library eCard at any Kansas library, free of charge, and sign in at www.kslib.info/ecard.