BPL the largest system in the country to provide Beanstack service to patrons
Brooklyn, NY– Brooklyn Public Library announced today that it will offer the innovative Beanstack recommendation service to children and families. Beanstack, powered by children's curation company Zoobean, is an online portal that connects families with books, apps and educational programs that match their children’s reading levels and interests.
“With personalized services like Beanstack and BPL’s popular BookMatch program, our patrons can easily access the content and programs that are most meaningful to them,” said Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda Johnson. “In Brooklyn, you can visit your local branch to find great books, or you can access BPL’s innovative online resources and let great books find you.”
Beginning this week, library patrons can access Beanstack from their home computers and mobile devices, or in any BPL branch. In addition to helping families discover great books, the web application includes a reading log and fun badges that help families and educators track—and reward—their children’s reading. Beanstack will also send a weekly book recommendation, featured event and learning tip to users; these can be accessed any time with the creation of an online profile.
Beanstack is offered and managed by Zoobean, Inc., which provides innovative tools that help public libraries engage local families and build children's literacy. The company and its founders were featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, where they earned an investment from Mark Cuban. Libraries that license the service gain access to Zoobean's database of children's books, apps, learning tracks and personalized recommendation system.
“We started Zoobean to help kids find books that excite and appeal to them, and to make reading more fun,” says Felix Brandon Lloyd, who co-founded the company with his wife Jordan Lloyd Bookey and serves as Chief Dad and President. “Connecting with libraries is a great way to do that. We know Brooklyn Public Library to be an amazing resource for the community, and expect Beanstack to deepen the library’s ties with families throughout the borough.”
Zoobean offers Beanstack in more than 50 libraries throughout the United States and Canada.
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About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is an independent library system for the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn. It is the fifth largest library system in the United States with 60 neighborhood libraries located throughout the borough. BPL offers free programs and services for all ages and stages of life, including a large selection of books in more than 30 languages, author talks, literacy programs and public computers. BPL’s eResources, such as eBooks and eVideos, catalog information and free homework help, are available to customers of all ages 24 hours a day at our website: www.bklynlibrary.org.
About Zoobean
Zoobean provides innovative tools that help public libraries engage local families and build children's literacy. The company's core product, Beanstack, recommends books matched to each child's interests, along with learning tracks linked to fun badges. Zoobean has more recently introduced a comprehensive summer reading solution.