Recently, a reader reached out through the little chat bubble on my website while looking through my list of 100+ Novels Every High School Student Should (Consider) Read(ing).
The message was brief. Essentially, the reader wanted to know whether they could get one of the novels as an app on their phone.
At first, this seemed like a simple customer-service question. The page contains more than 100 books across introductory, American, world, and British literature, with links that help readers find copies of the books. I needed to figure out what options I could give someone who apparently didn't want a physical book at all.
So I started looking.
I discovered that Bookshop.org (which is the company I send teachers to for purchasing physical books) sells ebooks that readers can access through its free iOS and Android apps or through a web browser. That means someone can find an ebook, purchase it, and read it directly on the phone they're already carrying.
But purchasing an ebook isn't the only option.
Readers with public library cards may be able to borrow ebooks and audiobooks through Libby, depending on what their local library owns. Libby works on mobile devices, and some libraries even allow eligible readers to sign up for a digital library card. Some libraries also provide Hoopla, which offers ebooks and audiobooks along with other digital media. And readers who prefer to buy audiobooks can use services such as Libro.fm, whose purchases support independent bookstores and can be listened to through its mobile app.
I sent all of that back to the reader and invited them to tell me which particular book they were looking for.
Then I started thinking about our students.
How many students know these options exist?
When we tell a teenager that they need to get a book to read, we may imagine a pretty straightforward process: Go to the library. Find a book. Check it out. Carry it around. Read it.
For some students, that works beautifully.
For others, access is more complicated. The school library may not have the book they want. They may not have transportation to the public library. A student may move between two households, work after school, or simply have trouble keeping track of another physical object.
At the same time, many of our students have access to digital devices outside of school. For some, that might be a phone. For others, it might be a family tablet, a school-issued Chromebook, or a computer at home or at the public library.
That matters because not only do books come in many formats, some schools limit teacher's abilities to have classroom libraries.
Of course, knowing those options exist doesn't mean every option is appropriate for every student or classroom. Some states and districts are restricting classroom libraries. Here in Oklahoma, students' access to personal electronic devices during the school day is now restricted by state law, and other states and districts have adopted their own cellphone policies. Families may also set limits on which apps their children can download, which websites they can visit, and what kinds of books or media they can access.
Teachers can help students and families understand the range of ways books may be available to them, from school and public libraries to district-approved digital resources, ebooks, and audiobooks. From there, students and families can choose the options that fit their school policies, family expectations, available devices, and individual circumstances.
Part of becoming a confident and independent reader is learning where books can be found.
We can teach access alongside reading
This could become a useful mini-lesson at the beginning of an independent reading unit. Show students how to search the school library catalog, introduce any district-approved ebook or audiobook platforms, and point them toward public library resources such as Libby or Hoopla. For resources used on personal devices, families can decide what works best for them.
As I continue updating my own recommended-reading lists, I want to think more intentionally about access alongside recommendation. Helping students discover their answer to “What should I read?” is crucial, but so is helping them figure out, “How can I get the book?”
That simple question from a reader in my website chat reminded me that helping students find books also means helping them understand where those books are available.