Happy Tuesday! This week’s message is an informational smorgasbord: we’ve got updates to WiLS’ WSDLC invoicing process, the final days of September’s Flipped Classroom: Getting Started, a plug for ALA’s Banned Books Week, and details on an upcoming webinar that will feature two WSDLC members!
Final Rounds of WSDLC Invoices Are Sending This Week
WiLS has been sending out WSDLC invoices for the 2023-24 membership year in batches over the month of September, and the final round of invoices is expected to be sent out this week. ?
Thank you so much to all of our members for their patience as these invoices get generated and processed.
If you find that your school/district hasn’t received your invoice(s) by the end of next week, please reach out to the WSDLC Project Managers, and we’ll get a copy of the invoice to you and/or your WSDLC Billing Contact. And as always, if you have any questions about your WSDLC invoice, or need to make any adjustments, please reach out to us at wsdlc-info@wils.org.
We’d also like to give a special shoutout to the WiLS Financials team for processing and sending out the over 300 WSDLC Membership invoices flawlessly each and every September! Thank you so, SO much!
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Flipped Classroom: Getting Started; MARC Records Begins Soon!
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.
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.
Click the link or copy and paste it into your browser to get started with Getting Started: https://wsdlc.org/getting-started-with-flipped-classrooms/
Looking ahead: October 1st begins our next Flipped Classroom: MARC Records. The MARC Records flipped classroom may be short and sweet, but it is packed with helpful information for members. This lesson introduces members to the kinds of MARC records available through OverDrive and the WSDLC, and details how these records can be managed and uploaded into the Destiny catalog.
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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Save the Date: WSDLC MARC Records Best Practices Webinar on October 17th
Speaking of MARC Records, coming up on Tuesday October 17th, from 3:30pm – 4:30pm, OverDrive and the WSDLC are hosting a discussion on MARC Records Best Practices!
Join Connie Bowman of OverDrive along with WSDLC Members Teresa Voss of Verona Area School District and Nell Fleming of the Wisconsin School For The Deaf as they discuss Sora and MARC Records.
More information and connection details will be coming soon.
And in case you missed the message on MARC Records from WSDLC Project Managers last week:
We are aware of an issue affecting members who use their online catalog as their entry point for WSDLC titles rather than directing students to the Sora app. Sora applies content access levels to each title in the WSDLC shared collections that limit students from being able to search, view or checkout titles outside of their assigned content access levels. This leveling system works extremely well and allows schools and districts autonomy to decide what their students have access to. Online catalogs, however, do not apply content access levels to any WSDLC titles, which means students in all grades can search for and view the covers of any WSDLC title in your catalog. Students are unable to check out titles outside of their assigned content access levels.
The WSDLC project managers recommend that schools and districts use Sora as the point of entry for WSDLC titles. Sora is updated in real-time with new purchases, which ensures students have access to all resources without delay in uploading MARC records.
Note: If you have titles loaded into Destiny and want to remove them, here is a PDF guide on how to do that.
Please reach out to us with questions and utilize the amazing team at OverDrive as well at wsdlc@overdrive.com.
Thank you!
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In the Community: Banned Books Week is October 1-7
Next week begins Banned Books Week, an annual awareness campaign through the American Library Association that “celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.”
On the ALA’s website, you can find more information about Banned Books Week, including this year’s theme (Let Freedom Read), Free Downloads, Display Ideas, and so much more!
If your school library finds itself facing challenges to books in your collections, you can also find a collection of Intellectual Freedom resources on the WSDLC website that can help guide you through the process. These resources include the WSDLC Collection Development Policy, as well as links to resources from the CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center) and the ALA.
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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/.
