Publishers support Obama initiative with $250m ebook donation

A group of US publishers will donate more than US$250 million (A$316.25 million) worth of ebooks for use by low-income students as part of a new digital reading initiative launched by President Barack Obama, reports Publishers Weekly. Publishers supporting the initiative include the ‘big five’ publishers Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Hachette, as well as independent houses such as Bloomsbury, Candlewick, Lee & Low and Cricket Media. Working through the White House’s digital education initiative ConnectEd, which has nearly $US10 billion (A$12.65 billion) in funds and resources, the projects commit to making sure local students have access to library cards and educational resources. The ebook donations will be made available through libraries and non-profit educational organisations to communities in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Cleveland, among others.