Create multiple Reading Programs
Run summer reading, classroom reading, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, winter reading, book clubs, school-wide challenges, and year-round programs from the same account.
Reading program software
Everything you need to run a reading program people actually participate in.
Create flexible reading programs, make participation easy for readers and families, keep people motivated, and see what is happening while your program is still underway.
Reader Zone brings reading tracking, goals, activities, communication, incentives, reader management, and reporting together without making the software the focus of the experience.
Built for classrooms, schools, libraries, districts, library systems, families, and reading programs of nearly any structure.
Simple for readers. Flexible for organizers.
Simplicity drives engagement.
The best reading program is one people will actually keep using. Reader Zone is designed to make joining and logging fast for readers while giving organizers the flexibility to build a program around their own goals.
Readers spend less time managing a reading log. Organizers get better visibility into participation, progress, incentives, and results.
Program setup
Build the reading program you have in mind.
Run a simple classroom reading goal or manage multiple programs across an entire school or library system. Reader Zone lets you organize participants into Programs, Groups, and Activities so different readers can have different goals and experiences without needing separate platforms.
Use Groups for different audiences
Create Groups for classrooms, grades, age ranges, library branches, reading levels, or any other participant structure that fits your program. Each Group can have its own dates, goals, Awards, questions, Book Bank, and tracking method.
Add Activities beyond reading totals
Include Activities such as story walks, library events, reading outside, or other experiences. Activities can track reading or use a custom metric defined by the organizer.
Start quickly or customize deeply
Use Quick Start for a straightforward program, Advanced Setup for more detailed configuration, or begin with a Template Program and customize it. Reader Zone also includes CSLP program parameters as templates for libraries using the Collaborative Summer Library Program.
Repeat successful programs
Clone an existing Program and carry over its configuration, including Groups, dates, Awards, and other program parameters. Choose whether to bring the existing readers into the cloned Program or start the new Program with no readers.
Reading tracking
Track reading the way your program works.
Not every reading program measures success the same way. Reader Zone lets each Group or Activity track the metric that makes sense for its readers.
MinutesPagesBooksChaptersYes / NoCustom Activity metrics
Set goals or keep an open reading log
Create daily, weekly, monthly, or full-program goals where appropriate, or let readers simply record what they read without a required target.
Ask a simple Yes/No question
Use a Yes/No Group for a daily question such as “Did you read today?” Readers can submit one Yes/No response every 24 hours.
Create custom Activity metrics
If your program needs to track something other than reading totals, create a custom metric for an Activity.
Make eligible past entries
While a Program is active, readers can enter reading for eligible dates within the Program. When the Program ends, the organizer can either close entries or allow a grace period of up to 10 days for past reading.
Enter reading for multiple readers at once
Bulk Reading Entries let organizers select multiple readers and add the same reading or Activity entry for one or more dates. It is useful when a whole class reads together or staff need to enter offline participation.
Reader experience
Make it easy to join, read, and keep going.
Reader Zone is designed to keep the technology out of the way of the reading.
Use the mobile app on iOS or Android
Readers can participate through the Reader Zone mobile app on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Participate in English or Spanish
The Reader Zone mobile app is fully available in both English and Spanish, so Spanish-speaking patrons, students, parents, and readers can participate in Reader Zone Programs in Spanish.
Use Reader Zone without downloading an app
The Desktop Reader Portal lets readers create an account, join Programs, make reading entries, and manage their participation from a web browser. The same Reader account can be used in the mobile app and on the desktop portal.
Manage multiple readers from one family account
Parents and guardians can manage multiple readers through one account, making it easier for families with several children to participate.
Join more than one Program
Readers can participate in multiple Programs and Groups or Activities without creating separate Reader Zone accounts.
Enrollment
Give readers more than one way to join.
Every community enrolls readers differently. Reader Zone supports simple self-service joining as well as organizer-managed enrollment.
Program Codes
Readers can enter a Program Code to join the Reading Program.
Your own Reader Zone program page
Schools and libraries can publish a Reader Zone Homepage with their logo, instructions, and available Reading Programs. Share the page through a link or QR code on posters, handouts, websites, social media, or library displays.
Direct invitations
Organizers can invite individual readers into a Program.
Bulk invitations
Upload CSV, XLS, or XLSX files to invite a larger list of readers without entering them one at a time.
Internal Readers
Create an Internal Reader when a participant is not managing their own Reader Zone account. Staff can enter and manage participation on the reader's behalf. If that reader later wants to manage their own account, an Internal Reader can be handed off into a conventional Reader account without starting over.
Book Bank
Keep each reader's books in one place.
Book Bank gives readers a persistent place to keep track of the books connected to their reading life and Reading Programs.
Track what you are reading
Readers can keep track of books they are currently reading, have finished, or want to read.
Search or scan a book
Find a title in Reader Zone's book database or use barcode scanning in the mobile app to add a physical book quickly.
Add a Custom Book
If a title is not in the database, a reader can create a Custom Book by entering the title and adding a photograph. Custom Books are created from the Reader side. Organizers cannot create a Custom Book on behalf of a reader.
Count books more than once
Reader Zone supports rereading, which is especially useful for early-literacy programs such as 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten.
Review finished books
Readers can leave a review after finishing a book.
Create Group and Activity Book Banks
Organizers can add books to a Group or Activity Book Bank to create suggested, recommended, or required reading lists for a Program.
Motivation
Give readers something to work toward.
Reader Zone can add as much or as little structure as your program needs. Use individual goals, Awards, leaderboards, prizes, Tasks, or Raffles without forcing every Program to become a competition.
Custom Awards
Create Awards that unlock when a reader reaches a milestone. Customize the Award threshold, image, message, and visibility. An Award can simply celebrate progress or give instructions for a real-world prize.
Reader and Group leaderboards
Run contests between individual readers or Groups. Readers can see standings in real time in both the mobile app and Desktop Reader Portal. Leaderboards are optional.
Staff Tasks
Tasks are internal staff actions connected to a reader. Staff can track prize pickup or other follow-up, and Tasks can exist with or without an Award trigger.
Built-in Raffles
Run a random drawing from all participants or limit eligibility to readers who earned a selected Award or completed a selected Task. Run multiple drawings and keep a history of past results.
Custom Questions
Collect the information your program actually needs.
Add Custom Questions to your Reading Program instead of maintaining a separate form.
- An open text field
- A dropdown with choices created by the organizer
- Required or optional questions
- Organizer-editable participant responses
Communication
Stay in touch after readers join.
Send customizable email messages or push notifications to an entire Program, a Group or Activity, or selected participants. Send immediately or schedule a message for later, then edit or cancel future scheduled notifications before they are sent.
Product boundary: Reader Zone communications are organizer-controlled. Reader Zone does not currently provide saved notification templates or send behavior-triggered automatic reminders or automated nurture sequences.
Reader management
See the person behind the reading total.
Every participant has an individual Reader Page where authorized organizers can understand and manage that reader in more detail.
From a Reader Page, organizers can view progress and activity, see Awards and Tasks, manage Program and Group participation, make or edit reading entries, work with Book Bank information where supported, and access internal staff Notes.
Internal Reader Notes
Add private notes to an individual Reader for staff context, including prize pickup information, follow-up, participation context, or program accommodations.
Manage readers in bulk
Select multiple readers to make bulk reading entries, move them between Groups or Activities, or perform other supported bulk management actions.
Live program data
Know how your reading program is going before it ends.
Paper logs usually tell you what happened after the fact. Reader Zone gives organizers visibility while a Program is still underway.
See reading entries, Awards, books, joining activity, and other Reader activity as it happens.
Open a Reader Page to understand how one participant is doing.
See how a classroom, age group, branch, or other Group is participating.
Understand the Reading Program as a whole without manually combining paper logs or spreadsheets.
For teachers, that means seeing who may need encouragement before the end of the week. For libraries, it means knowing whether the community is engaging before the summer is over.
Reports & exports
Turn participation into usable data.
Reader Zone provides multiple report and spreadsheet exports so organizers can analyze participation, manage staff workflows, and report results.
- Reader reports
- Download information about the readers participating in your account or Program.
- Awards reports
- See which Awards were unlocked and when individual readers earned them.
- Group reports
- Review reading and participation data Group by Group.
- Program reports
- Analyze data at the Reading Program level.
- Multi-file report downloads
- Package multiple spreadsheet reports into a ZIP download when you need a broader set of Program data.
Share your impact
Show what your readers accomplished.
Turn live Reading Program data into a visual your school, library, families, or community can see.
Create a Progress Badge
Choose a Program, selected Groups, a date range, and whether you want to show cumulative or average data. Add your school or library logo.
Download or share it
Download the Progress Badge as an image and use it in newsletters, social posts, presentations, or program updates.
Embed live reading progress on your website
Reader Zone can generate HTML for a Progress Badge that you can embed on an external website. The badge can update as Reader Zone data changes.
Publish a leaderboard badge
Create a public leaderboard showing selected Readers or Groups and share it outside Reader Zone.
Organization management
One account. However your organization is structured.
Reader Zone is built around Programs, Groups, Activities, and permissions so the software can fit the way your organization already runs reading programs.
A classroom
Run a classroom reading log, monthly challenge, or reading goal.
A whole school
Organize Groups by classroom or grade, or give different teachers their own Programs.
A district
Run multiple school and district-wide Programs and give staff access only to the Programs and Groups they need.
A library
Run Kids, Teen, Adult, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, Winter Reading, Summer Reading, and other Programs from one account.
A library system
Organize Programs by branch, age group, challenge, or any other structure that fits your system.
Staff access
Give staff access without giving everyone the keys to everything.
Reader Zone supports different administrative roles and scoped access.
Owner
The Owner has full account-level control.
Manager
Managers can manage assigned areas and create Reading Programs.
Authorized User
Authorized Users can be given access to selected Programs and Groups, with appropriate read or write permissions.
Classroom EditionUp to 40 readers and one Authorized User
School and Library accountsUnlimited Authorized Users, with reader capacity based on the organization's plan
All other Reader Zone product features are available across both product types.
Sign-in & rostering
Fit Reader Zone into the accounts your school already uses.
- Google SSO
- Microsoft SSO
- Apple SSO
- Clever
- ClassLink
Schools can use existing roster information to automatically populate Reader Zone with students based on classes or other desired roster structures.
Feature reference
Explore every Reader Zone feature.
Looking for something specific? Here is a more detailed view of the tools available across Reader Zone.
Program creation and structure
- Multiple Reading Programs
- Run multiple seasonal, classroom, school, library, or year-round Programs from the same account.
- Multiple Groups and Activities
- Create different participant experiences inside one Program with separate goals, dates, Awards, questions, Book Banks, and tracking settings.
- Quick Start and Advanced Setup
- Build a straightforward Program quickly or configure more detailed program structures.
- Template Programs
- Start from prebuilt Program parameters and customize them.
- CSLP Program Templates
- Libraries using the Collaborative Summer Library Program can use Reader Zone template program parameters inside the platform.
- Program cloning
- Clone a Reading Program's configuration and choose whether to include the existing readers or begin with an empty participant list.
- Archive and restore
- Archive Programs and Groups/Activities without losing their historical data, then restore them later.
Reading tracking
- Minutes, pages, books, and chapters
- Choose the reading metric that matches each Group.
- Yes/No participation
- Ask a daily participation question and allow one Yes/No response every 24 hours.
- Custom Activity metrics
- Define a metric for an Activity when minutes, pages, books, or chapters do not fit.
- Goal-based reading
- Create goals on supported schedules such as daily, weekly, monthly, or full-Program targets.
- Open reading logs
- Track reading without requiring readers to reach a predefined goal.
- Past reading entries
- Readers can enter eligible past reading while a Program is active. After the Program ends, organizers can close entries or allow a grace period of up to 10 days.
- Bulk Reading Entries
- Add the same entry to multiple selected readers and dates.
- Reading timer
- Readers can use the built-in timer as part of the reading experience.
Activities
- Reading and non-reading Activities
- Use Activities for reading experiences, events, Story Walks, community participation, and other program components.
- Independent settings
- Activities can have their own metrics, dates, goals, Awards, Tasks, questions, and Book Banks.
- Optional entry photos
- Allow Readers to attach a photograph to an entry. Organizers can view, download, or delete the photo.
Reader access and enrollment
- iOS and Android apps
- Readers can participate from the Reader Zone mobile app.
- English and Spanish mobile app
- The mobile reader experience is fully available in both English and Spanish.
- Desktop Reader Portal
- Readers can create accounts, join Programs, and log reading without downloading the mobile app.
- Multi-reader family accounts
- Parents and guardians can manage multiple Readers through one account.
- Program Codes
- Readers can join with a Program Code.
- Public Reader Zone Homepage
- Publish a branded page that displays your organization's Programs and joining instructions.
- Shareable links and QR codes
- Promote the joining experience through websites, posters, handouts, and other materials.
- Reader invitations
- Invite participants directly.
- Bulk invitations
- Import larger lists using CSV, XLS, or XLSX files.
- Internal Readers
- Manage participation on behalf of a Reader who does not manage their own Reader Zone account.
Book Bank
- Individual Book Bank
- Readers can keep track of books they are reading, have finished, or want to read.
- Group and Activity Book Banks
- Organizers can provide suggested, recommended, or required reading lists.
- Book search
- Find titles in the Reader Zone book database.
- Barcode scanning
- Scan a physical book in the mobile app.
- Custom Books
- Readers can manually add a title and photograph if a book is not found in the database. Custom Books can only be created from the Reader side.
- Rereading
- Count and track books that are read more than once.
- Book reviews
- Readers can review a book after finishing it.
- Optional title requirements
- Organizers can control whether a book title must be associated with applicable reading entries.
Motivation and incentives
- Custom Awards
- Create milestone Awards with custom thresholds, images, messages, and visibility.
- Reader progress
- Let Readers and organizers see progress toward configured goals.
- Reader and Group leaderboards
- Run optional contests and show standings in the app, Desktop Reader Portal, or a public Progress Badge.
- Tasks
- Track internal staff actions such as prize pickup, follow-up, or other reader-specific work.
- Award-triggered Tasks
- Create a staff Task when a Reader unlocks a selected Award.
- Raffles
- Draw winners from all participants or from Readers who earned a selected Award or completed a selected Task.
Communication
- Custom emails
- Send messages to a Program, Group/Activity, or selected participants.
- Custom push notifications
- Send mobile-app messages to the Readers you choose.
- Scheduled notifications
- Create a message now and schedule it for a future time.
- Edit or cancel future messages
- Change a scheduled notification before it is sent.
- Organizer-controlled communication
- Reader Zone does not currently provide saved notification templates or behavior-triggered automatic reminder sequences.
Reader management
- Reader Pages
- Open an individual participant record to see progress, activity, Programs, Groups, Awards, Tasks, and other reader information.
- Organizer-managed entries
- Make or edit reading entries on a Reader's behalf.
- Reader Notes
- Keep private internal notes that staff can use to share context about an individual Reader.
- Bulk management
- Select multiple readers for supported actions such as entries, Group movement, or deletion.
Reports and analytics
- Real-time Activity Feed
- See reader participation while the Program is underway.
- Individual, Group, and Program progress
- Move from a single participant to organization-wide reading data.
- Reader/User spreadsheets
- Export participant information.
- Awards spreadsheets
- See Awards and when Readers unlocked them.
- Group reports
- Analyze reading data Group by Group.
- Program reports
- Review Reading Program data at the Program level.
- ZIP report downloads
- Download multiple spreadsheet reports together where applicable.
Sharing
- Progress Badges
- Turn live Reading Program data into a shareable visual.
- Cumulative or average totals
- Choose how the Progress Badge summarizes Program data.
- Custom date ranges
- Show the period that matters for your program.
- Organization logos
- Include your school or library branding.
- Downloadable images
- Use a badge in newsletters, presentations, or social posts.
- Live website embeds
- Embed a Progress Badge on an external website and let it update with Reader Zone data.
- Leaderboard Badges
- Publish selected Reader or Group standings outside the Reader Zone participant experience.
Organization management
- Owner, Manager, and Authorized User roles
- Give staff the level of access appropriate to their responsibilities.
- Scoped Program and Group access
- Limit staff access to the Programs and Groups they manage.
- Classroom Edition
- Supports up to 40 readers and one Authorized User.
- Schools and libraries
- Support unlimited Authorized Users, with reader capacity based on the organization's plan.
- The same core features
- All other Reader Zone product features are available across both product types.
- Flexible organization structures
- Use Programs, Groups, Activities, and permissions for multi-classroom, school, district, branch, and library-system structures.
Integrations
- Google SSO
- Sign in using Google.
- Microsoft SSO
- Sign in using Microsoft.
- Apple SSO
- Sign in using Apple.
- Clever rostering
- Schools can use Clever to automate roster setup.
- ClassLink rostering
- Schools can use ClassLink to automate roster setup.
Frequently asked questions
Answers for your next reading program.
What is Reader Zone?
Reader Zone is reading program software for teachers, schools, libraries, families, and other reading program organizers. It combines program setup, reading and Activity tracking, reader management, goals, Awards, leaderboards, communication, Book Bank, reporting, and other tools in one platform. It can be used as a digital reading log, but it is designed to manage the broader reading program around the log as well.
What can Reader Zone track?
Reader Zone can track minutes, pages, books, chapters, Yes/No participation, and custom Activity metrics. Organizers can use goal-based Programs or open reading logs and can configure different Groups or Activities to track different things.
Can Reader Zone run summer reading programs?
Yes. Libraries can create multiple age Groups, reading goals, Activities, Awards, Tasks, Raffles, Book Banks, notifications, public joining pages, Progress Badges, and reports within a summer Reading Program. Reader Zone also supports CSLP template program parameters.
Can Reader Zone run 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten?
Yes. Reader Zone supports long-running Programs, book tracking, rereading, family accounts, milestone Awards, and Book Bank functionality that fit 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten programs.
Can people use Reader Zone without downloading an app?
Yes. Readers can participate through the Desktop Reader Portal from a web browser.
Is Reader Zone available in Spanish?
The Reader Zone mobile app is fully available in both English and Spanish.
Can one Reader Zone account run multiple Reading Programs?
Yes. One account can manage multiple Reading Programs, and each Program can contain multiple Groups or Activities with different settings.
Does Reader Zone support reading challenges and leaderboards?
Yes. Reader Zone can run optional contests between individual Readers or Groups. Participants can see standings in the mobile app and Desktop Reader Portal, and organizers can publish Leaderboard Progress Badges outside Reader Zone.
Can libraries manage prizes and Raffles?
Yes. Awards can mark milestones, Tasks can track internal prize fulfillment, and the Raffle tool can draw from all participants or from Readers who earned a selected Award or completed a selected Task.
Can Reader Zone track activities other than reading?
Yes. Activities can track reading or use a custom metric for experiences such as events, Story Walks, or other program participation.
Can schools roster students automatically?
Yes. Reader Zone supports Clever and ClassLink rostering so schools can use existing roster information to populate Programs with students.
Does Reader Zone support single sign-on?
Yes. Reader Zone supports Google, Microsoft, and Apple SSO.
Can organizations export Reader Zone data?
Yes. Reader Zone provides multiple spreadsheet reports, including Reader/User, Awards, Group, and Program reporting. Multiple spreadsheet files can also be packaged into a ZIP download where applicable.
Can staff have different permissions?
Yes. Reader Zone includes Owner, Manager, and Authorized User roles and can scope access to selected Programs and Groups.
What is the difference between Classroom Edition and Reader Zone for schools and libraries?
The core product features are the same. Classroom Edition supports up to 40 readers and one Authorized User. School and Library accounts can support unlimited Authorized Users, and reader capacity is based on the organization's plan.
Start your next reading program
Build a reading program that fits your readers.
Whether you are running one classroom, a school-wide challenge, or a library program for the entire community, Reader Zone gives you the tools to build it without making participation complicated.