Media Contact:
Heather Mompean, Community Relations and Marketing Officer
Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library
605 N. El Dorado Street
Stockton, CA  95202
(209) 937-7452
heather.mompean@ci.stockton.ca.us

To Be Released Immediately on or after August 1, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

ONLINE E-BOOK PROGRAM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AVAILABLE NOW AT
STOCKTON-SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

          
New e-reading technology being made available by the California State Library gives young children an exciting new way to experience books and learn to love reading. Library patrons across San Joaquin County now have free access – at home or at their local libraries – to BookFlix, an online e-reading program from Scholastic that combines classic fictional video storybooks with similarly themed nonfiction ebooks to make reading exciting for children in grades Pre-K-3.

BookFlix pairs award-winning video produced by Weston Woods with related nonfiction ebooks from the rich libraries of Scholastic. Children will delight in watching their favorite books come to life on screen, then turning the electronic pages of an e-book to discover real-world facts and satisfy their curiosity about the world they live in.

BookFlix offers 95 fiction-nonfiction pairs, of which 25+ are available in Spanish. Pairings include: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type with Let’s Visit a Dairy Farm; The Snowy Day with Snowy Weather Days; and Happy Birthday Moon with The Moon.  With additional pairings set for release in the future, BookFlix will continue to provide fresh content to early readers.

“BookFlix makes it easy to bring the library to your home,” said City Librarian Chris Freeman. “By making BookFlix available to our customers, we are providing cutting-edge e-reading technology resources through an Internet connection, and providing a tool that introduces young readers to classic books and stories in new, 21st Century formats.”
 
Designed to provide a constant interactive experience for young users, the unique features of BookFlix include:

• A “read-along” option that provides word-by-word highlighting so children can follow along as the fiction video is narrated and the nonfiction e-book is read aloud.
• Narrated text and definitions of key vocabulary words to support beginning and reluctant readers, as well as English Language Learners;
• Educational games and activities that encourage children to show what they have learned and to reinforce early reading skills like fluency, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension;
• Biographies and interviews that introduce young readers to their favorite authors; and
• Safe, age-appropriate web links to encourage children to further explore topics that pique their interest.

BookFlix is available for families at home and at all SSJCPL library branches.  To “check-out” this new reading service from home, have your library card ready when you visit www.stockton.lib.ca.us and click on any “BookFlix” icon. 

This service is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act administered in California by the State Librarian.
Find SSJCPL on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ssjcpl) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/ssjcpl) to join in conversation that celebrates literacy. 
The Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library is a library system comprised of 12 branch libraries and 2 mobile vehicles that serve residents throughout Stockton and the San Joaquin County.  The Cesar Chavez Central Library is located at 605 N. El Dorado Street.  For more information about the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library call (209) 937-8221 (Stockton), or countywide toll-free at (866) 805-7323 (READ).  Visit the Library’s website at www.stockton.lib.ca.us.

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