What TeachingBooks.net does

TeachingBooks.net is a digital literacy platform that delivers original and curated multimedia resources about children's and young adult books to PreK-12 schools, public libraries, and teacher education institutions. Founded in November 2000 by Nick Glass — a former author-presentation host who built the concept around distance-learning video networks — the platform debuted at the 2001 American Library Association convention and began commercial license sales in November 2003. Today the catalog holds 386,801 unique resources, including exclusive Meet-the-Author Movies, author-narrated recordings, 21,575 read-along audiobook performances, 3,795 complete book readings, audio name pronunciations, book trailers, vocabulary and comprehension organizers, and Google Books preview passages across 77,755+ titles.

The product is delivered as two branded surfaces on a shared infrastructure — TeachingBooks for Schools (school.teachingbooks.net) and TeachingBooks for Libraries (library.teachingbooks.net) — built on standard HTML/CSS/JavaScript with cookies, compliant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA and COPPA, and supporting screen readers, keyboard navigation, and voice control. Distribution is anchored by native SSO integrations with Clever and ClassLink and a Google Classroom sharing integration, with the full site translated into 104 languages via Google Translate. The company is a privately held Ohio LLC and a wholly-owned subsidiary of OverDrive, co-located at OverDrive's Cleveland headquarters, operating with a small dedicated team of 11-50 employees.

The business model is institutional subscription site-licensing, sold via direct phone sales to school districts, individual schools, and library systems on a multi-year contract basis, with a free-trial funnel and self-serve individual-educator subscriptions as a secondary channel. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. TeachingBooks also offers collection analysis tools, custom booklists, multi-leveled lesson plans, and a Diverse Books collection, positioning the platform as a standards-aligned literacy resource across ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

Name

TeachingBooks.net

Legal name

TeachingBooks, LLC

Website

https://teachingbooks.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TeachingBooks.net is a digital literacy platform that delivers original multimedia resources — author movies, read-along audiobooks, and lesson materials — about children's and young adult books to 33,000+ PreK-12 schools, public libraries, and teacher education institutions via institutional subscriptions. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OverDrive.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Content & Literacy Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Reading Content & eBooks (Leveled Readers, Libraries) (EDAFACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Literacy & Reading Intervention Technology (EDAJAMAF), Language Content Libraries & Digital Readers (Leveled Readers, Graded Content) (EDAFAOAM), Literacy Foundations (Phonics, Reading Fluency, Comprehension) Platforms (EDAFAOAD)

Keywords

• Digital literacy platform
• Children's book resources
• School library licensing
• Author video content
• Reading education tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Institutional Site Licenses: TeachingBooks sells licenses to schools and library systems. Licenses are sold to institutions on a subscription basis with multi-year contract options available.
2. Individual Educator Accounts: Individual educator accounts for parents, teachers, and librarians. The platform offers free trial access with full access upon subscription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TeachingBooks.net operates a digital literacy platform that enriches reading experiences of children's and young adult books through an original and curated library of 386,801 multimedia resources, including exclusive Meet-the-Author Movies, audio name pronunciations, read-along audiobook performances, complete book readings, book trailers, lesson plans, and vocabulary graphic organizers. The platform is sold primarily as institutional site licenses to PreK-12 schools, public library systems, and teacher education institutions, and is also available to individual educators via subscription. Two branded instances — TeachingBooks for Schools and TeachingBooks for Libraries — share the same content and infrastructure.

Product overview

TeachingBooks.net is a unified digital literacy platform offering an extensive collection of original and curated resources about children's and young adult books. The platform consists of two branded versions—TeachingBooks for Schools (serving PreK-12 school communities) and TeachingBooks for Libraries (for public library staff and patrons)—both utilizing the same core program, infrastructure, and content. The core content offerings include Meet-the-Author Movies (exclusive video documentaries), Meet-the-Author Recordings (author readings and discussions), read-along audiobook performances (21,575 available), audio name pronunciations, book trailers, and complete book readings (3,795 available). Educational tools include Story Map Multi-Leveled Lessons, Book Guides and Activities, Vocabulary and Comprehension Graphic Organizers, and Collection Analysis Tools. The platform covers 386,801 total resources and provides Google Books preview access to 77,755 books. Resources can be shared via email, Google Classroom, QR codes, and social media. Content is organized by grade levels (PreK-2, 3-6, 7-8, 9-12), curricular areas (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies), genres (Biography, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Poetry), cultural experiences, and 153 awards and distinctions. The platform adds approximately 1,639 new resources daily.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TeachingBooks for Schools A PreK-12 school community platform serving teachers, library staff, students, and families with author movies, interviews, book readings, lesson materials, vocabulary graphic organizers, and collection analysis tools aligned to curriculum and reading development. Sold via institutional site license to school districts and individual schools.
• TeachingBooks for Libraries A platform designed for public library staff and patrons that provides the same content and infrastructure as TeachingBooks for Schools, focused on reader's advisory, programming support, and patron literacy engagement. Sold via institutional site license to public library systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• Resources help students connect deeply with books, gain new insights from authors, and thoroughly experience the joy of reading.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• OverDrivecoreOthersTeachingBooks is owned by OverDrive, The Leading Digital Content Platform for Libraries & Schools. OverDrive is the parent company, providing corporate infrastructure and resources for TeachingBooks operations.
• ClevercoreTechnology or IntegrationClever single sign-on integration allows TeachingBooks users to access the platform seamlessly through their Clever-connected school accounts without separate login credentials.
• ClassLinkcoreTechnology or IntegrationClassLink LaunchPad integration enables TeachingBooks users to access the platform through their ClassLink single sign-on environment at schools using ClassLink authentication.
• GooglesupportingTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Google Translate for website translation across 104 languages, and Google Classroom integration for sharing TeachingBooks resources with students.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Capstone (Capstone Interactive): Children's publisher with a digital library (Capstone Interactive eBooks) sold to schools and libraries. Comparable as a publisher-built K-5 digital reading platform.
• Scholastic Education (BookFlix): Scholastic's BookFlix and literacy platforms serve PreK-12 schools with paired fiction/nonfiction eBooks, read-aloud audio, and educator resources. Most direct head-to-head competitor in K-12 digital literacy content.
• Learning A-Z (Raz-Kids / Kids A-Z): Provides leveled eBooks, reading practice, and teacher tools for PreK-5, directly competing for the same K-5 reading-instruction budgets and digital-shelf space as TeachingBooks.
• Epic!: Digital library of children's eBooks, audiobooks, and learning videos used in schools and homes. Targets the same PreK-8 reading-engagement use cases and competes for educator and parent wallets.
• Mackin (MackinVIA): Provides K-12 schools and libraries with a digital content management platform (MackinVIA) for eBooks and audiobooks. Competes for the same library-management shelf space and district licensing dollars.

Broad incumbents

• OverDrive (Sora): TeachingBooks' parent company and the leading digital content platform for libraries and schools, operating the Sora reading app. Directly comparable as a K-12 and library digital-content provider; the natural distribution and bundling partner.
• Renaissance Learning: Major K-12 edtech vendor offering Accelerated Reader, myON digital reader, and assessment tools. Competes for the same literacy-instruction budgets and is frequently a district's existing contracted vendor.
• Follett (Follett Destiny / Lightbox): Major K-12 library-management and content vendor offering Destiny library systems and Lightbox interactive eBooks. Sits in adjacent shelf within the same school-library RFP and competes for literacy/instruction budgets.

Emerging players

• Lexile (MetaMetrics): Provides reading-level measurement and book-leveling frameworks widely used in K-12. Adjacent to TeachingBooks' collection-analysis tools and increasingly relevant as AI-driven leveling improves.

Regional players

• Booksource (Classroom Readers): Distributes leveled classroom books, book packs, and digital resources to US schools. Comparable customer base (school librarians/media specialists) and procurement motion, though primarily print-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TeachingBooks.net