Clifford Moves Online: The History and Future of Scholastic Reading Club

Scholastic Canada has been running Reading Club in Canadian schools for half a century. Until 1998, teachers were only able to place student orders by mail or over the phone. Then, the first Canadian Reading Club website was created with a web form for teachers to submit orders online. The online form marked the start of a major change that has been brewing for Reading Club over the last two decades, but it wouldn’t be until 2016 that this simple form would be replaced by a fully-functioning e-commerce website. As Scholastic Canada moves Reading Club online, the company must maintain its valued relationship with teachers and protect its unique place in Canadian classrooms, while at the same time seeking out opportunities to grow in its new digital context. This report looks at the history of Scholastic Incorporated to illustrate how the company founded its vital relationship with schools and teachers and built its successful distribution networks. The report then focuses in on Scholastic Canada’s Reading Club division, delving into the changes that are rapidly occurring as the clubs are moved online.