Follett Software's Destiny Library Manager Plays Key Role In New York City Initiative To Connect Students To Millions Of Books

MCHENRY, Ill., Jan. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --  Follett Software Company's market leading Destiny Library Manager software product for K-12 schools and districts is playing a key role in a program that by 2015 will provide all 1.1 million New York City public school students with direct access to 17 million books and other informational learning materials.

MyLibraryNYC is an initiative undertaken by the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) in conjunction with the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens public libraries, and has been called by the mayor of New York City "a great example of the public and private sectors coming together to invest in our children and the city's future."

NYCDOE is a major Destiny Library Manager customer with more than 700 of its public schools using the library management solution. As part of MyLibraryNYC, the Destiny system will help connect students and teachers to millions of digital and print resources, and to one another, through its link to BiblioCommons, the new search and social networking interface of the public library catalog.

By 2015, MyLibraryNYC will provide digital access and school-site delivery to the more than 17 million books and informational resources available in the three libraries' collections. The MyLibraryNYC pilot first launched last year in a partnership between 86 schools and only the New York Public Library system. Surveys conducted after the pilot showed that nearly 90 percent of participating teachers said the program better equipped them to teach, and that students in the pilot were three times more likely to check out a book from their public library than those in non-participating schools. This year's expansion includes the Brooklyn and Queens public libraries.

"Libraries are an indispensable asset to our students and the expansion of MyLibraryNYC will encourage reading and promote learning both inside and outside the classroom," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a recent news conference to announce the program's development. "This program is a great example of the public and private sectors coming together to invest in our children and city's future.

"By expanding the volumes of our school libraries to include the collections of three of the largest public library systems in the country," Bloomberg continued, "we are increasing the opportunities for our students to meet the higher bar of the Common Core standards and graduate ready for college and careers."

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