Columbia public school leaders announced a new literacy program that will help preschoolers.

The “Columbia, I Read” project gives free, unlimited access to books electronically.

It’s an extension of an existing program called “myON Reader” for kindergarten through eighth grade students.

The new literacy program gives every 4-year-old in the Columbia School District access to online books by using a password. School leaders said the new program provides children with a better opportunity to prepare for kindergarten.

The program works on a number of electronic devices.

Superintendent Dr. Chris Belcher said, “It will work on a computer, a laptop, iPad, a Kindle reader and a number of devices. The devices for mobile reading are exploding. They are becoming cheaper and more affordable. I don’t think that’s going to be our barrier.”

Belcher plans to expand the “Columbia, I Read” project to both 3- and 4-year-olds during the next school year.

School officials will be piloting the new program over the next several months.