Free Online Reading Services Available for Youth

The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative offers free online reading resources for youth at hcplc.org with a Hillsborough County Library card. The youth component of OverDrive, myON® reader, and TumbleBookLibrary are three resources that allow children to acquire knowledge on their own reading level.

OverDrive offers about 3,000 popular fiction, nonfiction, chapter and picture book titles for youths to choose from, in either e-Book or audiobook form. The collection is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week under the Children & Young Adults section at hcplc.lib.overdrive.com.

And, there are no late fees. The downloaded selections simply disappear from a patron’s device at the end of the lending period. This service is available for a variety of devices, including Kindle, NOOK, Sony Reader, e-Book readers Android, Blackberry, iPhone/iPad/iPod/iPod Touch, Windows Phone and MP3 players, and is compatible for PCs and Macs.

myON® reader is a partnership between Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County, Hillsborough County Head Start, Hillsborough County Public Libraries, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa Housing Authority and United Way Suncoast of Tampa Bay.

This partnership was created to ensure that all children from birth through eighth grade have access to books through the myON® reader digital literacy platform. All Hillsborough County Public School students already have access to myON® reader upon enrollment in any elementary or middle school.

With unlimited access to more than 2,400 fiction and nonfiction titles on a variety of subjects and interests, without overdue fines or waiting lists, myON® reader provides children and young adults from birth to eighth grade a valuable resource. The collection of digital books can be read on PCs or Macs, as well as a variety of iPad and Android devices through a downloadable application.

To get started, register at www.readonmyon.org.

TumbleBookLibrary is an online array of animated books, games, puzzles, videos and more that teach children from birth to fifth grade the joys of reading in a format they would enjoy. Early readers, read-alouds, chapter books, nonfiction and audiobooks are just a portion of the selections that are available for online reading.

Children can even learn a new language through the Language Learning Section, which offers books in Spanish, French, Russian and Chinese.

With the educational tools available through TumbleBookLibrary, children can put what they read to use through book reports and quizzes. This service is available for a variety of Android and iPad devices, and is compatible for PCs and Macs.

These resources are available for free with a Hillsborough County Library card. For more information, call 813-273-3652 or visit hcplc.org.