K-12 school districts nationwide are adopting Follett Software’s Destiny Textbook Manager to help increase accountability and control over annual investments in textbooks.

Destiny Textbook Manager, a centralized, browser-based system, is now in over 11,000 schools. Officials at Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 (Plainfield, IL) estimate that Destiny Textbook Manager has saved them at least $500,000 so far.

Linda Casey, the district’s director of instructional technology and media, says the manager system will help “ensure that students will have access to the textbooks they need, when they need them, while at the same time saving our taxpayers a tremendous amount of money.” The system will also help eliminate over-ordering, and reduce placement costs by enabling the transfer of textbooks from one campus to another.

In 2007, South Carolina implemented Destiny Textbook Manager on a statewide basis. Follett renewed its contract this year to develop additional enhancements for the system. Dr. Jim White, the state’s manager of instructional materials, says the new system “will help all schools and districts keep better track of materials and recover fees when they’re due.” This helps districts identify and take action to reduce losses.