Weekly Message: February 11th, 2025

Good morning and happy Tuesday! This week’s message celebrates 7,000,000 lifetime checkouts(!!), plus shares all of the new titles added to the shared collections last month. We’re resharing the new Advantage Bundle Carts available for purchase, and then to wrap up this week’s message, we’re still chugging away with this month’s Flipped Classroom: Managing Holds.
Take care, all.

The WSDLC has reached over 7,000,000 Lifetime Checkouts!

On Tuesday, February 4th at 11:36am, students at WSDLC member school districts had checked out over 7,000,000 titles!
The title that holds the honor of being the 7 millionth checkout is *drumroll* Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins!

 

And head on over to the WSDLC dashboard, and click on the 7million checkouts badge to see the celebratory fireworks on your own screen!

Here are those other milestone / millionth checkouts through the years:
1,000,000th checkout: December 4th, 2020 with Hard Luck: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, Book 8 by Jeff Kinney
2,000,000th checkout: November 22nd, 2021 with The Last Straw: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, Book 3, by Jeff Kinney
3,000,000th checkout: September 29th, 2022 with Wrecking Ball: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, Book 14, by Jeff Kinney
4,000,000th checkout: May 11th, 2023 with Trucks, by Gary Sprott
5,000,000th checkout: January 26th, 2024 with Who Would Win: Lobster vs Crab, by Jerry Pallotta
6,000,000th checkout: September 16th, 2024 with Who Would Win: Ultimate Showdown by Jerry Pallotta

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New Titles Added in January

Some of these titles were already shared with you last month- the large array of biographies and the winners of ALA Book Awards titles that were purchased and added- but now that January is over we can share with you all the total number of new titles that were added into the shared collections.
In January, there were 422 completely new titles added into the shared collections! (And 641 copies!) Of these titles:

  • 132 are Audiobooks; and
    290 are Ebooks
  • 62 were added into the Upper High School Collection;
    70 were added into the Lower High School Collection;
    53 were added into the Middle School Collection;
    106 were added into the Upper Elementary Collection; and
    131 were added into the Lower Elementary Collection
  • 206 are Metered Access titles; and
    216 are One Copy/One User

A complete list of all the new titles added in January along with their format and content access level(s), can be viewed as a Google Sheet here. (This Google Sheet also includes the new titles added each month, so if you ever miss a month, we’ve got you covered!)

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Flipped Classroom: Managing Holds

February’s topic in the Flipped Classroom training series is Managing Holds. This month, learn more about the three best ways to manage holds, why it’s something you’d want to do, and read an overview on what the consortium does to manage holds.
And if nothing else, you should definitely pop into the Managing Holds Flipped Classroom to view (and share!) a quirky-and-fun short video a WSDLC Member created to share with her students to help encourage them to retrieve their digital holds. (Trust us- it’s fantastic!)

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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Reminder: Five All-New Advantage Bundle Carts Available Now!

The WSDLC’s dedicated Digital Content Specialist, Beth Saxton, has created an all-new series of sets of titles for WSDLC members to easily purchase for their Advantage collections! No logging into Marketplace, and no trying to figure out how to get the most of your funds. Just a simple, straightforward way to reduce your students’ wait times on the titles they want most!

When you’re ready to purchase any of these packages, you can submit your order through their linked Google Form order forms. When completing the form(s), you’ll have the opportunity to specify in you’d like your purchase(s) to billed by invoice, issuing a PO, or by content credit that you already have deposited in your Advantage Account(s).

February’s Advantage Bundle Carts include:

  • February 2025’s High-Demand Elementary Title Bundle
    High-Demand Elementary – 27 titles for $502.17
  • Youth Media Award Title Bundles
    Newbury, Caldecott, Giesel, and Printz – 28 titles for $906.88
    AAPL, Coretta Scott King, and Pura Belpre – 24 titles for $598.45
  • Scholastic Metered Access Titles Bundles
    Scholastic titles that are now being offered in MA:100 (100 checkouts, concurrent usage)!
    Elementary – 29 titles for $498.92
    Middle School – 21 titles for $406.08
    High School – 21 titles for $437.58
  • One Copy/One User Title Bundles
    Enduring titles that stand the test of time, invest in them now and own them forever!
    Elementary – 20 titles for $509.75
    Middle School – 10 titles for $504.96
    High School – 12 titles for $491.23
  • Golden Archer Awards Title Bundles
    Elementary – 13 titles for $308.68
    Middle School – 10 titles for $330.60
    High School  -10 titles for $513.64

Please reach out to wsdlc-info@wils.org for the full title list(s) and/or order form(s).

Save yourself time and money, and help get those high-interest, high-hold titles into the hands of your students faster by ordering today!

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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/.