The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) today announced that Pennsylvania’s public electronic library, POWER Library, has acquired 959 new e-books for users to explore on the topics of digital literacy, computer programming, business, education, and more. 

“These e-books are for Pennsylvanians of all ages with titles that support K-12 education, workforce development, and lifelong learning,” said Deputy Secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries Susan Banks. “There is focus on digital skills in this new collection, and users can find topics and titles at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Libraries are for everyone, so you’ll find e-books for kids and older adults as well as e-books to suit the workforce needs of IT professionals.” 

Digital literacy includes important skills such as sending and using email, engaging with social media, creating a document or a spreadsheet, and using online sites to apply for jobs.

The newest e-books are available on the POWER Library website in Find E-resources under the following categories EBSCO E-books and Gale E-books. Users will be prompted to enter a public library card number to access them, but those without a library card can sign up for an e-card for immediate access.  

Pennsylvania is committed to ensuring that all Pennsylvanians can easily access the library resources that exist not only in their own communities but also across the commonwealth. The commonwealth helps defray the cost of basic operations of Pennsylvania’s more than 600 local public libraries that annually serve more than 16 million visitors who borrow nearly 60 million books, including digital content.

Continuing Gov. Tom Wolf’s support for education across the commonwealth, his final budget included an $11 million increase for libraries, including $69,720,000 for the Public Library Subsidy. The subsidy goes directly to local libraries, library systems, and 29 district library centers, and provides every Pennsylvanian access to statewide resource center libraries at the State Library of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the libraries of The Pennsylvania State University.

POWER Library is made possible in part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Library Access funds administered by PDE’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please visit the website.