Happy Tuesday! This is a short week for all of you, and so while we tried to keep this message equally short, there are just enough things going on right now that we’re excited to share out that kept this message a scooch longer than anticipated. There are two pieces of news from WEMTA, reminders for the WSDLC’s Flipped Classroom training materials, a reminder on OverDrive’s annual sale, and a hint of something to come from the WSDLC team at OverDrive.
We hope you all have a lovely and relaxing break!
OverDrive’s Annual End of Year Sale is Happening Now!
If you purchase for your school or district’s Advantage account, you will want to take “advantage” of OverDrive’s biggest sale of the year with up to 50% off on over 100,000 titles through December 31st!
The End of Year Sale includes both eBooks and Audiobooks, and the staff at OverDrive has created helpful lists so you can browse sale titles by format, reading level, genre, and more! Easily find 2023 Releases, Audiobooks under $30, Biographies & Autobiographies, Diverse Reads, and so many more!
Log in to your Marketplace Account for more information, to view sale titles, and to expand your local collections with titles only your students will be able to access.
Side note: Keep an eye on your inboxes! A big announcement will be coming soon that we’re very excited to share and we know many of you will love! (Especially those of you who don’t have the time for digital content collection development and/or haven’t had the opportunity to explore Marketplace and purchasing for your school.)
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In the Community: Today! WEMTA Intellectual Freedom Forum
Join WEMTA for the November 2023 edition of the Intellectual Freedom Forum, which will be held this evening, Tuesday, November 21st at 5PM. The Intellectual Freedom Forum will last for 45 minutes and is free to all WEMTA members. Members must register for the event ahead of time.
View more information and register for this event here!
Not a WEMTA member? It’s free if you want to participate in certain events (IF Forums included)! Learn more about membership here.
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Flipped Classrooms: Advantage Accounts & Marketplace
What is a WSDLC Flipped Classroom?
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.
November’s theme is Advantage Accounts & Marketplace! This flipped classroom introduces the Advantage program and shows how users how they can use Marketplace to make the most of their Advantage accounts. Learn about Lending Models, adjusting the Content Access Level for your Advantage titles, make the most out of Class Sets, and so much more!
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 own 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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In Case You Missed It: The Common School Fund Distribution Announced + Planning Resources
WEMTA announced yesterday the exciting news: Wisconsin public school libraries will be receiving $65 million through Common School Funds this year! To help school library staff know how to utilize these funds, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has put together an incredibly helpful guide and resource. And in addition to that resource, WEMTA recently hosted an informational webinar on the topic. In WEMTA’s announcement yesterday, they shared links to both of these; and in turn, we’re sharing that portion of the announcement right here:
And remember: Common School Funds can be used to purchase materials for your school’s Sora collection! (These funds cannot be used to purchase curricular titles or class sets in Sora.)
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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/.
