Danish ebook lending app tracks children’s reading progress

A new ebook lending platform has launched in Denmark with the ability to track reading progress, reports Publishing Perspectives. Launched with the aim of supporting children’s reading, Book Bites allows readers to borrow and read ebooks as a series of consecutive ‘bites’ of content, each labelled with a personalised estimate of the time needed to read them. The estimated time is calculated using a formula—the Lasbarhetsindex Swedish Readability Formula or LIX—as well as the reader’s own reading speed. ‘The knowledge we gather permits us to show the reader his or her reading ability. It also permits a teacher to follow students’ progress,’ said app developer Lasse Nyrup. The data collected will also be used by the app to provide further reading recommendations, while statistics about the reader’s behaviour will be provided to authors and publishers. ‘Our customers are schools and municipalities,’ said Nyrup. ‘We consider ourselves the publishers’ partner, who provides them with a new sales channel.’

Category: International news Junior