# Scheduling books

URL: https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/scheduling-books
Tab: Scheduling & Courses
Category: Scheduling
Updated: 2026-10-07

Schedule a book across the calendar by chapter or by reading time.

A book can be scheduled like a course, one chapter or page range per teaching day, or read freely with a single daily item the student checks off as they go. Either way the book is tagged on the student's [Book List](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/books).

## Adding a book

1. Click the student in the sidebar, open **Enrollments**, and click **Add**.
2. Click **Book** under **Add from scratch**, or describe it, such as "Read The Hobbit at his own pace", and click **Continue**.
3. Under **Details**, search for the book by title. Picking a match pulls in the cover, author and page count from Open Library; you can also just type a title.
4. Choose a **Reading mode** and fill in the schedule.
5. Pick who reads it under **People** and click **Add**.

![Adding a book with the three reading modes](https://opensky-public-images.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/supportimages/scheduling/books.png)

## Reading modes

- **Schedule chapters** — enter the number of **Chapters**. One lesson is created per chapter and scheduled like course lessons.
- **Schedule pages** — enter **Total pages** (filled from Open Library when it knows the book) and **Pages per lesson**. Each lesson covers the next run of pages, such as "Pages 1–20". The form shows how many lessons that makes; a book cannot expand to more than 300.
- **Free read** — enter the chapter count. The student gets one **Read** item on the checklist each day and checks off chapters in its drawer at their own pace. The book is done when every chapter is checked.

## The schedule

For the two scheduled modes, set a **Start date**, tick **Which days** to read, and choose pacing: **Fixed pace** with **Lessons per day**, or **Finish by deadline** with a **Finish by** date and a front-loaded or back-loaded **Distribution**. **Set a specific time** gives every reading a time on the calendar.

For **Free read**, set a **Start date** and a **Target finish date**. The target is a pacing guide only: the drawer tells the student which chapter to be at to finish on time, and nothing goes overdue.

## After adding

A scheduled book is a course with the book's title, filed under the subject **Reading** unless you change it, and each reader gets their own copy and progress. It appears on the student's **Enrollments** tab and is managed like any other course. See [Managing courses](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/managing-courses) and [Course pacing](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/course-pacing).

The reading mode is chosen when you add the book.

## Need more help?

Reach out any time at [support@openskyplanner.com](mailto:support@openskyplanner.com) and we will be happy to help.