Parents and Guardians
Privacy Policy and Cookies

Parents and Guardians

 

In the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we are temporarily allowing schools, libraries and brick-and-mortar bookshops in the United Kingdom to share our books through virtual platforms.

Until 31st July 2020, UK-based teachers, librarians and booksellers will be able to share read-aloud videos and live events stories online using the following guidelines. 

 

For teachers and schools providing distance learning in a virtual classroom setting:

 

Read-aloud videos – in which a DK children’s book is read aloud (and, for picture books, where the book is displayed on screen) – may be created and posted on closed educational platforms, in order to replicate the read-aloud book experience that would otherwise be available in the classroom.

 

You must follow these guidelines when doing so:

 

  • The title of the book, and if relevant, the author, foreword writer, and illustrator, must be announced at the beginning of the video.

  • These videos can only be shared inside a closed educational platform, such as Google Classroom. Videos may also be uploaded to YouTube as a ‘Private’ video (i.e. a video that can only be viewed by people to whom the creator of the video sends an email link).

  • These videos may only be shared and hosted until the end of the current school year, up to 31st July 2020, after which they must be removed from the educational platform.

  • Please notify us by email (further information at the bottom of this piece) when sharing a book through these channels.

 

For librarians and brick-and-mortar booksellers:

 

Librarians and booksellers working in brick-and-mortar shops may continue to provide a live reading or other read-aloud experience for people who would otherwise visit the library or bookshop, through social media channels.

 

You must follow these guidelines when doing do:

 

  • The title of the book, and if relevant, the author, foreword writer, and illustrator, must be announced at the beginning of the video.

  • You can read the whole of a picture book or, for all other children’s books, an extract matching the same length as the in-store/ library reading time that would have taken place.

  • This only applies to reading books which are live-streamed, whether in real time or pre-recorded, on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter, and Instagram. Videos may be shared on these platforms until 31st July 2020.

  • Please note that these amended permissions apply to live-streamed videos only, and therefore you should not save or archive recordings for future use. We would therefore ask that appropriate measures should be taken to ensure the videos are not retained by anyone afterwards (e.g. by adding a disclaimer for viewers). If the social media platform automatically archives a live video then we would kindly ask you to delete the video from the account as soon as the event has concluded.

  • Please notify us by email (further information below) when sharing a book through these channels, and tag our social handle: @dkbooks

 

Reporting requirements:

We ask that all educators, booksellers, and librarians please notify us via email to penguinpermissions@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk using the header Special Reading Licence when you upload your read-aloud video providing the following information:

 

  • Name and address of the library or school

  • Title, author and ISBN of the book that is read

  • Contact information for the individual responsible for the reading

  • The educational platform / YouTube Channel / Social Media platform on which the video is posted or held and a link to that video or live event

 

If you have any further questions, please contact the DK and Penguin Random House Permissions team via the email above.