Weekly Message: November 11th, 2022

Rabbit rabbit! Tuesday is here again, and since it’s the first day of the month, we have for you the updated usage statistics for October. This week we’re also sharing with you some updates to Sora that are going live today, along with the details for November’s training materials. Please also make sure to submit your thoughts and ideas for the next WSDLC Annual Membership Meeting on the idea board (via Padlet)– more details on that below.
And finally, if you’re planning to be at WLA this week, please stop by the WiLS booth (# P102) and say hi! The WSDLC Project Management team will be at the conference, as will a number of the WSDLC Board Members, and we’d love to chat with you!

October Usage Statistics

Last month we reported that September was off to another record-breaking start, and October’s numbers keep that momentum going! October had 139,481 checkouts, the second-highest number during a single month (following behind May 2022’s 163,308 checkouts).

October’s usage also pushed the WSDLC past 1,000,000 checkouts for the calendar year, an exciting milestone that the WSDLC collections have reached for the 2nd year in a row! In 2021, the WSDLC saw one million checkouts during December, with a year-end total of 1,052,175. As of this morning (November 1), the WSDLC has had a total of 1,034,881 checkouts. WSDLC collections are bound to surpass 2021’s total circulations within the next week or two and is on track to pass by the total circulations from 2018-2020 combined (which was 1,067,057) before the end of the month!

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.

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Starting Today: Checkout Limits Are Increasing

Starting today (November 1st), the checkout limits in Sora will increase for all students!

Checkout Limit per User: 5 titles (updated from 3 titles per user)
Hold Limit per User: 5 titles (updated from 3 titles per user)
Lending Period: The default lending period will remain at 14 days, with an option for users to select 7 days, 14 days, or 21 days for ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines in their user account settings. View a PDF Step-by-Step Process Here.
(Note on Lending Periods: It is not possible to select different loan periods by collection type, i.e. K-5 collection; 6-8 collection; 9-12 collection.)

Many thank yous to the Selection Advisory Committee for this recommendation and to the Board for its approval!

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Reminder: Classic OverDrive Site/App Ending Soon; Redirect Links Going Live TODAY

On December 1st, 2022, the classic OverDrive website and App will no longer be available.
On November 1st (today), the WSDLC’s classic OverDrive website (https://wsdlc.lib.overdrive.com) will be discontinued and the URL will redirect to soraapp.com.

What Will Transfer to Sora
If you upload MARC records into an LMS, record links will automatically redirect to Sora on November 1 (today).
Students and staff will retain access to existing checkouts and holds.

What Will NOT Transfer to Sora
Any curated collections that were created by library staff on the classic OverDrive website will no longer be available.
AudioSync files that are saved in a user’s classic OverDrive account will no longer be accessible.

Next steps
The tools you need to support students and staff through this change are available in the K-12 Resource Center, including:

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Flipped Classrooms: Advantage Accounts & Marketplace has Begun

November is Advantage Accounts & Marketplace month for the WSDLC’s Flipped Classroom training series! This flipped classroom introduces the Advantage program and shows how users how they can use Marketplace to make the most of their Advantage accounts.

What are the WSDLC’s Flipped Classrooms?
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 independently, and OverDrive staff are ready to schedule one-on-one 20-minute sessions to answer members’ questions.
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/

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Tiny Case Studies: Graphic Novel Genre Study During Schoolwide Literacy Period

We have another Tiny Case Study to share with you all this month: Graphic Novel Genre Study During Schoolwide Literacy Period, submitted by WSDLC Board Member, Stephanie Judge!

Description: “The Sauk Prairie Middle School has a 35 minute period each day called Schoolwide Literacy. We drop everything and each teacher reads to class for 20 minutes and then students read to self for 15 minutes. In January, we establish genre groups and students select their preferred genre focus. As I teacher, I selected to lead the graphic novel genre group. The problem: How do you display a graphic novel and read it out loud to 20-25 students at the same time?”

What Are Tiny Case Studies?
WSDLC’s Tiny Case Studies are brief, practical summaries of outstanding things that some WSDLC members are doing that involve Sora and serve as an opportunity for members to share a WSDLC-related problem they had and how they solved it.
If you’ve done something lately that you’d like to share with the WSDLC Community, let us know! Maybe you’ve put together some creative marketing, started a student reading book club, engaged your school’s teachers on how they can utilize these resources in their classroom, or made a successful case for funding. No idea or accomplishment is too small! You can submit your tiny case study idea by email at wsdlc-info@wils.org or complete the idea form, and we will reach out to you with the next steps!
You can view all of the WSDLC’s Tiny Case Studies here.

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WSDLC Annual Membership Meeting: Topic Suggestions

Planning for the 2023 Annual Member Meeting has begun! Every year, the WSDLC hosts an annual meeting to get feedback from members, highlight the achievements and updates, and share what changes and updates may be coming soon. This meeting kicks off with a guest speaker or a panel of participants, all centered around a certain theme.

We want to hear from the WSDLC members on what topics or themes you would be most interested in hearing about at this next meeting. You can share your thoughts and ideas in this Padlet: WSDLC Annual Membership Meeting Topic Suggestions

Note about using Padlet: Padlet is completely free to use, but you do not need to create an account to submit your ideas or to comment on / show your support for others’ ideas. Any comments or suggestions made in our Padlet from users without an account will appear anonymously. If you want to avoid creating a Padlet account but wouldn’t like to be anonymous, go ahead and sign your name to your idea.

If you have an idea but want to use something other than Padlet, go ahead and email us your idea at wsdlc-info@wils.org.

The WSDLC Board and Project Managers will discuss the ideas provided by members at the next Board meeting in January.
Thank you very much!

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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/.

WiLS Team