A statewide consortium is giving children free digital access to more than 3,700 eBooks, audiobooks, videos and Read-Alongs.

In January, 85 regional, county and municipal libraries throughout North Carolina signed on to the NC Kids Digital Library launched by OverDrive, a leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools, through the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association, according to a press release from NCPLDA.

Two of those libraries are in Beaufort County, and according to library directors, the program will give many children greater opportunities to read, no matter where they are.

“I think that there are a lot of places in Beaufort County where it’s really difficult to get to the library,” said Hannah Easley, director of Beaufort-Hyde-Martin Regional Library. “So, this means that people who are in rural locations are able to access books on their phones or computers even if they can’t get to the library.”

The program was funded through a one-time $200,000 allocation from the North Carolina General Assembly, and those partnering have made a commitment to keep the digital library growing, Easley said.

Anyone can access the children’s library — all that’s needed is a library card. The children’s collection was chosen by an OverDrive development team and reviewed and approved by a committee appointed by the NCPLDA executive board, the release stated. As part of the program, many of the eBooks list readability levels and text difficulty to help parents find the right book for their child.

“With everyone working together, we were able to create a really good collection that kids have access to,” Easley said.

But it’s the access anytime and anywhere that makes NC Kids Digital Library so valuable, according to Easley.

“There are still a lot of people who don’t have access to internet at home, but one of the things I like about this is that you can access them on the smartphone,” she said.

Another bonus of the program is that 300 titles are available for simultaneous access, which means teachers with access to classroom devices can use eBooks in the classroom at no charge.

“If a teacher wants students to all read the same book, they can do that digitally on the same platform,” Easley said. “Schools do summer reading programs, and we definitely want to partner with them to make this resource available for the summer.”

All titles can be accessed through nckids.overdrive.com or the OverDrive app, via major computers and devices include iOS, Android, Chromebook and Kindle. For more information, visit BHM Regional Library online at bhmlib.org or Brown Library, at washington-nc.libguides.com.