Capstone celebrates milestone 25th anniversary in 2016

MANKATO, Minn. – Capstone, a leading publisher of children’s books and digital products and services, celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2016. Among the publisher’s yearlong celebration at conferences and online includes special promotions and giveaways for customers, exclusive events with an open house party at its headquarters office in North Mankato this summer, a Mayoral Proclamation for “Capstone Day,” and a national contest for educators and booksellers to win a trip to key industry conferences in 2017.

“What a joy the last 25 years have been!” said Robert Coughlan, Capstone Principal and Founder. “Over the years Capstone expanded and evolved, but has always stayed true to its core mission of inspiring children’s imagination and igniting their curiosity. I would like to thank all of our partners – the librarians, teachers, administrators, parents, and booksellers – who have let us know when we got it right, and when we missed the mark. Their guidance and support has been invaluable, and I am so honored to share this milestone with them.”

Capstone began publishing books in 1991 with a list of 48 titles and has grown to an expansive publishing house with more than 15,000 plus titles. Focusing on long term growth and innovation, Capstone utilized emerging technologies to transform a print only publishing business into one offering platform solutions, hybrid models, and apps that support the educational experience. Over the last several years, Capstone’s market presence expanded from a library only business to one that reaches the classroom, the district, the home, and internationally.

Investments in technology led to the development of: myON™ reader, a personalized learning environment with over 6 million kids in 8,500 schools reading with it; literacy and research solutions PebbleGo™ for PreK-2, and PebbleGo Next™ for grades 3-6; and Capstone Interactive, a collection of more than 5,000 interactive e-books. In 2015, there were 60 million user sessions for these three products.

An important focus in Capstone’s corporate giving program is investing in literacy education for children. Capstone strives to be a community leader by supporting literacy programs, expanding educational opportunities, and caring for the environment. In 2012, Capstone launched theCapstone Literacy Center in Mankato to help struggling readers in grades 1-5. The program has since grown to include an additional satellite location and now offers an online interactive program called Capstart for enrolled students. Capstone’s Employee Volunteer Time program encourages and empowers employees to give back to their communities with volunteer time, which is paid for by the company.