"The entire package of Follett Library Resources, from product to people, is exceptional. Customer service is excellent, turnaround and fill is superb. Their team is really invested in my library. They are always professional, patient and positive."
"Thank you for great service and ease of keeping track of orders. TITLEWAVE makes my life easier. I can even prepare POs from home."
"Thank you for all you do and for such wonderful service and quality products."
Laurel Jernigan, Librarian
Diamond Oaks Vocational School Cincinnati, OH
"The Playaways™ are getting taken out as quickly as "chip and dip at a party"! The students really enjoy them, so do the teachers, the librarians we service from our Genesee Valley BOCES Media Library, and other school related personnel."
"Our elementary schools were blessed with a grant from a private local foundation to purchse 50 Playaways per school. We have been using them in our libraries since the beinning of the school year with 4th and 5th graders. The students find them easy to use and seem to be enjoying them immensely. Playaways bring classic and modern literature to students in a tecnologically familiar way. Some students have digital iPods® or MP3 players at home and others dream of having them at home…now all of our 4th and 5th grade students can come to the library and listen to digital audiobooks every week. Our students are given time during each library class to listen to their books and keep track of their progress in individual listening library logs. I have heard several students express how "cool" the Playaways are. They are excited to come and hear what is going to happen next in their story."
"One of the best things about Playaways, in my opinion, is that children can listen to any story - no matter what their "reading level" is. Some students might have trouble decoding text, but are very capable of comprehension. Digital audiobooks help students to be exposed to higher level vocabulary that they might be unable to decode otherwise. The more they can hear higher level stories and vocabulary, the more likely they will be able to understand it and possibly decode it later on during a reading experience. I am grateful to Follett for making this technology available, at an affordable price, to their library customers.
Andrea Michel, Librarian
Akron & Mentone Elementary
N. Manchester, IN
"I am the librarian/media specialist at Creighton School, an inner city Phoenix K-8 school. The last statistic I recall for free and reduced lunch here is 94% of our school that qualifies. Many of our students tell me they don't have books in their homes and as each year begins, we spend some time talking about the proper treatment of library books."
"Despite this, when my Follett rep introduced me to my first Playaway I knew I hade to make these available to my students. Most of them do not own cool MP3 players; they want them, but understand their parents can't provide them."
"We started with just 4 and required that the students also check out the book and follow along. We explained the power of listening and reading simultaneously. We also informed the classroom teachers these would be used in their rooms during silent reading time."
"These are simply the most popular thing in the whole library! Students walk around with their book worn proudly around theirs necks. I have observed both in the library and in the classrooms students with books open ...following along...and totally immersed in their book. Students are reading books higher than their reading level because listening vocabulary is higher than sight vocab. We now have ten titles and plan to increase our selection each year! Playaways are simply the best thing since ...I asked a student to complete this sentence because I know "sliced bread" is a dreadfully old cliche...his reply? "The best thing since iPods®."
Valerie Grimes, Librarian/Media Specialist
Creighton Elementary School
Phoenix, AZ
"I love the playaways! I think that Follett has ‘stepped up to the plate’ and taken a step toward providing new technology for Lower School students. As a Lower School librarian, I really appreciate it. Much of the new technology introduced to schools is geared toward middle and upper school students. It is nice to see something new and exciting for my younger students!"
Debra Wilhoit
Lower School Librarian
Providence Day School
Charlotte, NC
"I just wanted to take a second to let you know how much I love the Playaways. I find them to be not only ingenious, but convenient and well, to be perfectly honest, a librarian's dream, especially for students who hate to read. They are a great sell for boys who "have to check out a book." Because they so closely resemble iPods, students don't mind checking them out, as opposed to a book on CD or tape. The greatest drawback, though, is that I typically have them checked out to myself because I enjoy them so much, whether it's when I am grocery shopping or at the gym. I cannot wait to see what new titles will be coming out. So, thanks again."
Kristen Gladden, Librarian
Ross Sterling Middle School
Humble, TX
"We purchased the Playaways through Follett Library Resources, the only source for them that I know of. We allow the students to check out the whole unit, and we do require that they also check out the companion book. This program has been very successful with all grade levels and is particularly helpful to our English as a New Language population."
Susan Sharp, Library Media Specialist
West Noble Middle School
Ligonier, IN
"I needed a way to display our new Playaway titles for our students, because I wanted to let everyone know about our new Playaway collection (we didn’t have any audio books prior to these). Luckily, Follett packages them in nice stand-up boxes, so I was able to display them all out on the front counter without having to find other material to showcase them. Also, Follett also had a nice color sheet advertising the Playaways - perfect for our display! All I needed to add was a short description, and right away, we had an instant display. It was exactly what we needed, too. Within minutes of finishing the display, we had students checking them out. When I returned from lunch that day, the supervising librarian assistant walked up to me with a big smile on her face and said she’d never seen anything like it: in our comfy reading chairs, we had several of our rowdiest students curled up, listening to different books.
Since then, our Playaways have had a steady stream of customers, and we couldn’t be happier. We’re always excited to be in on the latest thing, and the students are excited too! I use TITLEWAVE a lot as well to search for different titles, Playaway or otherwise, and it so easy. My Account Manager is always there for anything I need. Thanks for all your help, Follett!"
Kelly Jo Lasher
School Library Media Specialist
Middle Township High School
Cape May Court House, NJ
"I love the Playaways! I think that Follett has ’stepped up to the plate’ and taken a step toward providing new technology for Lower School students. As a Lower School librarian, I really appreciate it. Much of the new technology introduced to schools is geared toward middle and upper school students. It is nice to see something new and exciting for my younger students!"
Debra Wilhoit
Lower School Librarian
Providence Day School
Charlotte, NC
"I just wanted to let you know that I just put out my 6 Playaway ‘books’ this morning and I only have ONE left! The kids LOVE this format!! They are great!"
Mary Ellen Yonker, Librarian
New Caney Ninth Grade Campus
Porter, TX
"I have purchased 20 Playaway Digital products..., and they are continually checked out. I can’t say enough about how great these products are for my students and staff.
Playaway Digital Media is the future of audiobooks. I buy our required curriculum on audio books and shelve them with our regular books, yet their use is limited as many homes don’t even have a cassette player anymore and protecting the CDs and their risk of loss and damage is often greater than the opportunity they provide in use."
Kara S. Scheurman, K12 Library Director
School District of Brown Deer Brown Deer, WI
