Heights Press Launches With Unique Content material for Colleges and Libraries

A brand new ebook imprint is publishing books solely for libraries and public faculties.

On Oct. 21, digital library service OverDrive launched the brand new publishing imprint Heights Press, together with its inaugural titles, the Hickory Hole collection. The six-book collection caters to middle-grade readers, and is now out there solely for faculties and public libraries worldwide via the e-book and audiobook platforms, Libby and Sora, and the academic video platform Kanopy Youngsters.

“We have been serving libraries, supporting literacy applications and rising lifelong readers for 20 years, and this felt like a pure evolution for us to get into the unique content material area,” OverDrive CMO Jen Leitman tells PEOPLE.

Heights Press, Leitman says, was created as a solution to promote literacy to younger readers.

“We’re in a novel place too, as a result of we will provide unique digital content material throughout a number of platforms within the type of e-books and audiobooks — Libby and Sora — after which additionally streaming on our Kanopy platform,” Leitman explains. “We are able to play a component in our service to libraries by sharing these terrific tales in that method.”

Heights Press was impressed by the city of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the place OverDrive CEO and founder Steve Potash grew up, and the place the corporate is predicated. In an announcement shared with PEOPLE, Potash mentioned that he was a “proud graduate” of Cleveland Heights Excessive College, and that Heights Press hopes to make the most of OverDrive’s expertise to encourage readership for all college students.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is right here! How shortly are you able to remedy it? Play now!

“What makes us completely different is that we solely serve library channels, so that you’re solely going to search out this content material at libraries. It is nice to have one thing unique,” Leitmans says. “It is one more reason to get a card and assist your library.”

The imprint’s debut collection, Hickory Hole, follows the younger residents of a fictional city of the identical identify. Every ebook within the collection will initially be out there in an e-book format, and in 5 languages: English, Chinese language, Vietnamese, German and Korean.

The primary title will likely be out there without spending a dime for faculties and libraries that already use OverDrive, and extra books will likely be that can be purchased in OverDrive Market. Six Hickory Hole video shorts will even be out there to stream on Kanopy Youngsters.

“Every particular person ebook has a really particular fascinating character, and it is a very numerous set of characters,” Leitman says of the collection. “Every creator may be very linked to that character by way of who they’re, their perspective, how they grew up.”

Leitman additionally shares that there are plans to develop sources for various age ranges, together with adults.

“It has been tremendous thrilling to be part of the entire evolution,” Leitman says. “It’s a massive strategic change for us.”

The largest hope Leitman has for the imprint, nevertheless, is that all of it comes again to fostering a love of studying.

“I feel they’re good tales that entertain and encourage extra children to like studying. And for us, serving libraries with unique content material you possibly can solely discover there’s terrific. It is an excellent subsequent step,” Leitman says.

By no means miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free each day publication to remain up-to-date on the very best of what PEOPLE has to supply​​, from celeb information to driving human curiosity tales.

“It is very aggressive within the content material area. It is all over the place and libraries are an amazing useful resource for therefore many causes,” Leitman provides. “They’re accessible to everybody … We wish to develop lifelong readers. That is it. That may be a massive primary aim.”

For extra details about Heights Press, go to www.heights-press.com.