FAQs

General Questions

Why is Open eBooks being deprecated?

Due to limited funding and the evolving digital reading landscape, we are no longer able to continue running the platform in a way that showcases its true potential.

We would like to thank everyone who used Open ebooks and shared feedback. We are especially grateful to teachers, librarians, and students who read with us and helped make reading accessible to all.

I'm a current Open eBooks user. When will I lose my access?

Open eBooks will be discontinued on August 29, 2025. After this date, current users will no longer be able to access the platform on their devices.

Can my students still sign up for Open eBooks?

New user registrations will end by August 1, 2025.

If your school signs up now, students will have access until August 29, 2025.

Are there other platforms that provide similar services?

Check your local library to see if they offer access to any digital reading platforms.

Why eBooks?

Open eBooks provides free ebooks and reading materials online to students. Students who can gain access through their qualifying school can use their mobile device, tablet, or laptop to download and read books at no cost.

Does Open eBooks help teach digital literacy?

While Open eBooks is not focused on teaching digital literacy skills, the application is a useful resource for a range of libraries and schools in their ongoing efforts to teach digital literacy and encourage reading and learning out of the classroom.

Is this a government program?

No, this is not a government program. Open eBooks operates as a partnership between the NYPL and First Book. Providing free books online to kids across the nation is made possible by generous contributions of service from Baker & Taylor and Clever, and content from top children’s book publishers.

Open eBooks has been supported by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and commitments from publishers. Although the program was launched in partnership with President Obama’s ConnectED initiative, no new federal budget line or staff was associated with the project.

How Open eBooks works

What if I don't own a smartphone or tablet, and don't have internet access?

If a student’s family does not own a device, they can access and borrow e-reading devices through their local school and library.You can also use your school or local library’s Wi-Fi to access Open eBooks and download the books in this program.

Does “unlimited access” mean the books will be free of Digital Rights Management?

Readers can borrow up to 10 books at a time and replace each book with a new book as many times as they’d like. These ebooks include digital rights management software, which means that the book will be visible only to the student who is accessing it and cannot be shared.

How long can I borrow a book for?

You can borrow a book for up to 30 days.

How many books can I borrow at a time?

You can check out up to 10 books.

User data and privacy

How is users’ privacy protected and respected?

Open eBooks does not capture nor store any personally identifiable information about our app users. For more information, see the Open eBooks privacy policy.

In order to access Open eBooks, users have to use one of our partners’ software to verify their eligibility. Please see the First Book privacy policy and the Clever privacy policy for more on how our partners capture user information during the authentication process.

Are individual readers’ activity tracked?

No, individual readers' activities are not tracked. Reading will be tracked anonymously and in the aggregate. A student’s privacy is paramount and the partners will work tirelessly to ensure that student privacy is maintained at all times.

How do users report a problem?

On web

To report an issue, contact us.
Please note: at this time, we do not support reporting problems directly from the reader experience. Stay tuned for updates on this.

On mobile

The Open eBooks mobile app allows you to report errors from inside the app. This is the fastest way for our tech team to resolve the issue.

To report an issue with a specific eBook, click on the eBook so you see its description. Then click "Report a Problem," and select an option.
To report an issue with the app, click "More" on the bottom menu, then "Report an issue." Fill out the form and a tech support member will be in touch.

What are the terms and conditions of use for Open eBooks?

Please see our Privacy Policy for more information on our terms and conditions.

Accessibility

Does Open eBooks work for people who are print-disabled?

Yes. Open eBooks on mobile includes accessibility features. It is compatible with Apple and Android’s Text to Speech (TTS). Making this content accessible is a top priority and we continue to work to improve accessibility for Open eBooks and with our industry partners. Please contact us if you have any concerns or issues about our accessibility.

Dyslexia Visual Aid Image

How does it work for readers with Dyslexia?

Open eBooks supports Open Dyslexic Font for those with Dyslexia.

To enable:

Open your eBook
Click the [Aa] button in the top right corner
Click the Open Dyslexic Font located in the top row on the far right

Collection and available ebooks

How are eBooks selected?

Publishers have generously contributed thousands of titles to Open eBooks to ensure that Open eBooks provides books that speak to America’s diverse population and range of perspectives. The New York Public Library’s expert staffs review our collections for each age group.

What publishers committed to provide eBooks for students in in-need families?

Below is the list of the contributing publishers:

Bloomsbury: Providing unlimited access to over 1,000 of its most popular titles.
Candlewick: Providing unlimited access to all relevant children’s and young-adult eBook titles in their catalog.
Hachette: Offering access to a robust catalog of their popular and award-winning titles.
HarperCollins: Providing a vast selection of their award-winning and popular titles.
Macmillan: Providing unlimited access to all of the K-12 age-appropriate titles in their catalog of approximately 2,500 books.
National Geographic: Providing unlimited access to all of their age-appropriate content.
Open Road: Providing unlimited access to their age-appropriate ebook titles.
Simon & Schuster: Providing access to their entire e-catalog of books for children ages 4-14, comprising 3,000 titles.

Are the eBooks culturally diverse? Are there titles available in languages other than English?

Open eBooks is strongly committed to creating a diverse collection for all ages Open eBooks continually works with publisher partners to refresh the content and provide these new diverse titles to readers. The Open eBooks library contains a growing number of Spanish-language titles, and we plan to add more non-English languages.

Can I sort eBooks by reading level instead of grade level?

Open eBooks is currently organized into three collections: early grades, middle grades, and high school. Administrators can request access codes based on readers’ needs; there is also an option to request codes that give access to all three collections. However, there is currently no way to organize by reading level. Code administrators could give a reader access to a more appropriate collection based on reading level, but there is no way to filter material that may be too mature topically. This is left to the discretion of the teacher, librarian, administrator or parent, as with all reading material.

How can I see what my child is reading?

We do not have caregiver accounts that allow for browsing only access. Each collection is curated by subject matter expert librarians, focused specifically on each age group, ensuring the content is appropriate for readers.