Happy Tuesday! With the first Tuesday of the month comes a look at the usage statistics from last month (which are very impressive, as usual). We are also sharing out the details on the upcoming New Members Webinar that is scheduled for later this month, and also resharing some updates from OverDrive that were sent out last week.
August’s Usage Statistics
August’s usage statistics are setting up for what can only be another successful and record-breaking year in the WSDLC: When compared to August 2021, over 1,000 more individual students were accessing the collections, with over 3,500 more titles checked out! August 2020 saw similar usage as August 2022, so seeing this jump after 2021’s dip is particularly exciting.
You can download the full calendar year’s statistics .xlsx spreadsheet, which includes detailed information on circulation numbers, holds, and other metrics, broken down by month, at the bottom of the WSDLC Year to Date Statistics page.
Coming Soon: New Member Webinar on September 28th
Whether you are a new member of the WSDLC or a returning member that would like a refresher, everyone is invited to join OverDrive Account Manager Lena Richardson in a New Member Webinar on September 28th at 3:30pm! Lena will be covering the ins and outs of OverDrive Marketplace, Sora, and more!
You can register to attend here: https://overdrive.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_81wn4RmPSKqHeq_PMtWaBw
This webinar will be recorded, and the link to the recording will be shared out for those who can’t attend.
Flipped Classroom: Getting Started
The WSDLC offers a self-paced training series to help new members get oriented (and as a refresher for returning members) with their membership and the Sora collections. Every month, a different topic and set of materials are highlighted to help guide members throughout the school year. The content of these Flipped Classrooms is intended for Library Media Specialists and anyone else that may help to manage school/district library resources, OverDrive Advantage purchasing, and digital classroom materials. Materials are available for members to review on their own and OverDrive staff are ready to schedule one-on-one 20-minute sessions to answer members’ questions. This month’s theme is Getting Started!
How can students checkout titles in Sora? Can I listen to an audiobook offline? How can I find a book in OverDrive Marketplace to purchase for my school’s Advantage account? What are each of the different lending models? You can find answers to these questions and more in this month’s Flipped Classroom: Getting Started.
You can find more information on WSDLC Training opportunities and materials here: https://wsdlc.org/training/
Find the full calendar of self-paced training topics here: https://wsdlc.org/training/wsdlc-training-schedule/
In Case You Missed It: Updates from OverDrive
We want to make sure WSDLC Members never miss updates being sent from OverDrive, and last week we saw some exciting messages from our Account Manager Lena Richardson and our full OverDrive team. We’re sharing those announcements here, along with a reminder that the classic OverDrive app is being retired at the end of the year.
➢ Back to School with Sora – OverDrive Updates
Hi there from OverDrive!
We (your Account team) are so excited to welcome you back to school and offer you support to kick off this school year! If we haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet with you, we look forward to it and until then, you can read a bit more about us in the attached document.
With that, I’ll update you on what’s new and what you need to know about OverDrive/Sora this back to school season:<
Back to School Webinar – discussion on Back to School best practices
- This was hinted at in the WSDLC Project Manager’s newsletter this week as well – REGISTER HERE
- We will be hosting this webinar Wednesday, September 28th at 3:30 pm CST
- It will be recorded and the link will be sent out in case you can’t attend live
Back to School Sale
- From now through Sept. 30th thousands of ebooks and audiobooks discounted 25-50% off!
- Shop the Sale
- Shop titles your students have on hold
- Method Test Prep is 20% off (one year subscription)
- Support your students ACT prep with proven results 3 pts higher
New Lending Model: On Demand Class Sets (ODCS)
- Digital On Demand Class Sets allow educators to provide many books to many students, instantly and affordably. You can give every student an equal opportunity to succeed with required reads!
- Take a more in depth look at ODCS here
- Know anyone in your district who’s interested in providing this resource to students? Let me know and I’ll schedule time to chat with them!
Survey – let us support you
- We would truly appreciate if you could fill out this short, 6 question survey regarding your OverDrive service and how you prefer receiving information. This information will enable me, as your Account Manager, to be the most helpful I can be to you.
New Live Webinars
- New to OverDrive? Need a refresh on Sora or Marketplace? Our OverDrive Training Team is hosting live webinars this back to school season on all the essentials
- Sora Essentials: register for a live webinar hosted DAILY to learn about Sora and ask questions live
- Marketplace Essentials: register for a live webinar hosted WEEKLY to learn about Marketplace and ask questions live
Please reach out with any questions and/or schedule a time to meet with me to discuss how we can support your library goals!
Best,
Lena, Amanda, Beth, and Connie
➢ New Comics!
On Monday, September 12th, the WSDLC’s comics collection will be growing! OverDrive is adding over 100 new titles to their All Comics Collection, which the WSDLC subscribes to. You can get a preview of all of these new comics titles here*:
*The WSDLC’s Digital Content Librarian at OverDrive is checking over each of these titles and adjusting levels as needed, based on the WSDLC Collection Policy and professional review sources such as School Library Journal, Kirkus, and CCBC Choices. When these new titles go live in Sora on Monday, you might find that some titles have been moved to a different access collection than displayed in the previews.
➢ Reminder: Classic OverDrive Website Will Be Discontinued on December 1st, 2022
Earlier this year, OverDrive announced that on December 1, 2022, the classic OverDrive website will be discontinued to focus on the award-winning Sora student reading app. Most WSDLC checkouts are happening in Sora already, so many users will be unaffected by this change.
Since some students across the state might still utilize classic OverDrive to access materials, we wanted to remind members of this change now, so these students can have time to get acquainted with Sora.
As part of this effort, OverDrive is actively converting PDF content into the OverDrive Read format as fixed-layout titles, making them available in Sora for the first time. Efforts are ongoing, with a goal of offering most PDF titles available in OverDrive Read by December 2022.
Registration for WEMTA’s Battle of the Books is Open!
On September 1st, registration opened for 2023’s Battle of the Books, hosted by WEMTA!
To help support students as they participate in WEMTA’s Battle of the Books, WSDLC Project Managers are purchasing additional ebook and audiobook copies of the titles on each reading list, and curated collections have been created for each division. You can find (and share!) the curated collections through the links below:
If you aren’t familiar with WEMTA’s Battle of the Books: BoB is an online trivia competition for students across Wisconsin. There are three divisions for students to compete in: Elementary (grades 4-6), Middle (grades 6-8), and Senior (grades 8+). Students can form teams of 2-4 people and, between them read from a list of 20 books. Starting in early February, students have the opportunity to participate in “practice battles”, and the official Battle of the Books runs the last full week of February.
You can learn more about the BoB on the Battle of the Books webpage.
The WSDLC project managers and the team at OverDrive are always available if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.
Not sure who to contact? Check out this handy guide on the WSDLC website: https://wsdlc.org/who-to-contact-with-questions/.
