Streamlined home access to ProQuest, TeachingBooks and Britannica information and learning tools
Press Release from the California State Library
Sacramento, Calif. – California public school students now have easier home access to online educational resources during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Teachers, families and students can quickly access content from ProQuest, TeachingBooks and Britannica using this specialized website.
“These educational resources are already available to students and educators through their schools and districts but this health emergency has disrupted the way Californians live – and learn,” said California State Librarian Greg Lucas. “ProQuest, TeachingBooks and Britannica have generously made access easier during the next few months to help families now reliant on at-home learning.”
Information from these three online sources has been available to public school students since the beginning of the 2018 school year. Britannica, TeachingBooks and ProQuest were accessed 7.4 million times, with over 33 million views and downloads in the 2018-2019 school year. These numbers will grow significantly during COVID-19-related school closures.
The California K-12 Online Content project, a joint partnership provided by the California State Libraryand the Riverside County Office of Education, spends $3 million annually to provide public school students and educators with access to educational resources. If every district and charter school were to pay for their own individual contracts it would cost at least $13 million.
Other providers of online tools and information are also opening up their digital doors on a temporary basis. A list is provided on the K-12 Quick Access page from the State Library, and interested families and educators can sign up for the K-12 eNewsletter from the State Library for updates and online trainings. A 30-minute overview of these resources will be provided via Zoom on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.
Contact (Media): Alex Vassar
(916) 904-2739
press@library.ca.gov
Contact (K-12 Online Content): Mary Beth Barber
Special Projects and Assistant to the State Librarian
(916) 429-5105
marybeth.barber@library.ca.gov
About the State Library: Founded in 1850, the California State Library has an extensive collection of
documents from and about the state’s rich history, ranging from books, maps, miners’ diaries,
newspapers, and periodicals to photographs, paintings and posters. The State Library also holds federal
and state publications, is home to the Bernard E. Witkin State Law Library and the Braille and Talking
Book Library, and serves as the lead state agency for library-related services throughout
California.