The LEES app has been extended for a year. This app is aimed at encouraging secondary school pupils and secondary vocational students to read more. The app consists of around 130 free e-books and audiobooks that were specially selected for young people. The app was introduced as a one-year pilot in September 2023. Because the app was used more than expected, it has been made available for an extra year.
The LEES app
The app was launched with 120 e-books and audiobooks that young people could read free of charge. Research shows that 30 per cent of young people struggle to find fitting books and that this puts them off reading. Loading the app with young adult titles and books on music and sport icons, for example, has made reading much more attractive. Logging into the app has also been made as simple as possible.
The stock was also renewed when the app was extended. For example, there are now books by influencers Dai Carter and Kelly Weekers and BookTok hit The House in the Cerulean Sea. Khalid Boudou wrote the book Snel Geld (‘Fast Money’) especially for the app. This title turned out to be the most borrowed on the platform.
Encouraging reading
Since the launch of the app, almost 45,000 accounts have been created, borrowing over 89,000 titles. That is almost double the expected number. Use will continue to be monitored in the coming year. The knowledge gained will be used for the development of future digital reading propositions for the target group. The KB will also continue its cooperation with many other organisations to encourage reading among young people and to increase their pleasure in it.
