Happy Tuesday to you all!
This will be the final membership newsletter of the school/membership year, and we have some final resources and news to share before everyone heads out for the summer.
First off, it’s been another amazing year for the WSDLC shared collections- from more usage, to students finding their next favorite reads that suit their reading styles, to the new features being implemented by OverDrive. To help celebrate and promote the WSDLC collections this year, the WSDLC’s Account Manager, Lindsay Crist-Lawson, has created a fabulous social media graphic that highlights 2025-2026’s Sora Activity- reach out to the Project Managers to grab this shareable graphic!
Other topics this week include:
- A reminder of the all new (and exclusive!) Sora Updates for WSDLC self-paced training webinar from OverDrive,
- The recording of the 2026 WSDLC Annual Membership Meeting,
- May’s usage statistics and new titles added to the shared collections, and
- Information on 2026’s Sora Sweet Reads and a wrap-up on the 2026 Reach More Readers Challenge
The WSDLC Project Managers (wsdlc-info@wils.org) and the WSDLC Team at OverDrive (wsdlc@overdrive.com) will be around and available all summer if you have any questions; and we’ll still share out any big news items that come across our desks.
Have a wonderful summer, and thank you for all that you do! Talk to you again this Fall!
✨New ✨ Self-Paced Training Webinar: Sora Updates for WSDLC
Are you new to the WSDLC? Looking for ways to help promote Sora to your students, and possibly take the lead in this year’s Reach More Readers Challenge? Do you need a refresher on what’s possible with Sora? Then this webinar is for you!
The WSDLC’s OverDrive Account Manager, Lindsay Crist Lawson, has just created an all-new Sora Updates for WSDLC webinar, tailored specifically for consortium members!
In this 33-minute webinar, Lindsay covers topics that are at the top of consortium members’ minds:
- New with Sora
- Marketplace Refresh
- Promotion
- Reach More Readers
- Reminders
Watch the Webinar Sora Updates for WSDLC here.
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Watch the Recording: The 2026 WSDLC Annual Meeting, with Guest Author Joseph Sieracki!
The 2026 WSDLC Annual Membership Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 19th, and had a great turnout! Guest Author Joseph Sieracki walked through his comic-creation process, from start to finish; and shared his free classroom resources that complement his science-based comic book Ghosts of Science Past.
If you would like to watch the recording of the meeting or review any of the materials discussed during the annual meeting, please reach out to the WSDLC Project Managers, and we can send along any (or all) of the materials listed below:
- WSDLC 2026 Membership Meeting recording
- WSDLC 2026 Membership Meeting slides
Guest Author Jospeh Sieracki’s Materials:
- Creating Comic Books by Joseph Sieracki slides
- Free resources for Ghosts of Science Past by Joseph Sieracki
- Ghosts of Science Past by Joseph Sieracki ebook
WSDLC-related Links & Resources Shared During the Meeting:
- Refreshed Training Resources page on the WSDLC website
- WSDLC 2026 Membership Mini Survey Results Report
- Sora Updates for WSDLC Self-Paced Training Webinar by OverDrive
- wsdlc-members Listserv Signup Form
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May’s Usage Statistics
Looking at May’s Sora usage across the consortium:
- 40,325 Audiobooks were checked out,
- 252,803 Ebooks were checked out, and
- 11,068 Magazines were checked out,
all adding up to a monthly total of 304,196 titles read, by 53,506 individual students across the state.
It will come as no surprise that both May’s checkouts and the number of students checking out materials have set all-new records!
This is the first time that a single month has exceeded over 300,000 checkouts. And as for students checking out materials- the previous record was set in October 2025 with 52,381 students, and May’s usage exceeded this by over 1,000 more students.
View the full calendar year’s consortium statistics as a Google Sheet here.
Download historical stats from the bottom of the WSDLC Year to Date Statistics page.
Learn how to run usage stats for only your district/school:
WSDLC’s newly updated Training Resources page | Reports section,
WSDLC’s Flipped Classroom: Usage Statistics,
OverDrive Resource Center’s training videos, and/or
OverDrive’s self-paced View Sora Activity training module
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New Titles Added in May
Last month, 1,610 completely new titles were added into the shared collection!
- 286 Audiobooks: 55 Lower Elementary; 109 Upper Elementary; 54 Middle School, 64 Lower High School; and 4 Upper High School
- 1,261 Ebooks: 169 Lower Elementary; 97 Upper Elementary; 60 Middle School; 927 Lower High School; and 8 Upper High School
- 63 Magazines: 14 Lower Elementary; 26 Middle School; and 23 Lower High School
- 35 titles in languages other than English: 25 Spanish; Castilian, 3 Portuguese, 2 Chinese, and single titles in each Arabic, French, German, Italian, and Japanese.
- 91 subject areas, the top five being: Juvenile Nonfiction (983), Nature (480), Science (471), Juvenile Fiction (309), and Juvenile Literature (268)
- 8 lending models: 1,084 Subscription, 319 OC/OU, 104 MA (12mo/OU), 64 MA (100checkouts / CU), 60 MA (24mo/OU), 12 MA (26 checkouts/OU), 1 MA (52 checkouts or 24mo/OU), and 1 MA (36mo/OU)
*Learn more about OverDrive’s Lending Models with the WSDLC’s newly updated Training Resources page | Purchasing section
(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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Sora Sweet Reads Has Begun!
OverDrive’s summer reading program, designed to encourage students to keep reading all year long, is available now! From May 18th until August 24th, a collection of free and simultaneous use ebooks (and select audiobooks) will be included in the WSDLC collections. Themes this year include:
- America 250: Explore stories, people, and moments that shaped the United States.
- Unearth a Story: Stories inspired by the discovery and exploration of the natural and ancient world.
- Comics & Graphic Novels: Bold stories told through art and powerful visuals.
- Curiosity Lab: Spark curiosity with STEM through discovery-driven stories.
- Everyday Adventures: Casual reads about friendship, family, and more.
- High-Energy Summer: Perfect picks for readers who want nonstop fun.
- Sleuths, Scares, & Puzzles: Mysteries to solve, secrets to uncover, and chilling campfire tales.
Learn more about Sora Sweet Reads and find marketing resources on the OverDrive Sora Sweet Reads page.
View the curated collection in Sora here. (You can also share this link with your students!)
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Reach More Readers Challenge – Wrap Up and Thank You!
The 5th annual Reach More Readers Challenge ended this weekend on Sunday, May 31st. After looking at May’s usage statistics, I think it’s safe to say that WSDLC member schools had an amazing impact this year, [re]introducing Sora to students before they leave for the summer!
Later in June we’ll tally the final results, and the top schools will be contacted by OverDrive to coordinate their prizes over the summer.
Many thank yous to everyone who participated!
What is the Reach More Readers Challenge?
In 2022, the WSDLC and OverDrive began hosting a competition between all WSDLC member schools to encourage students to check out a title in Sora during the month of May, increasing their awareness of this resource before summer break begins.
WSDLC member school staff get their students to log in to Sora and check out a title during the month of May. WSDLC Project Managers and the WSDLC Sora/OverDrive team compare the number of individual students that checked out titles in March 2026 to the number in May 2026. The school district(s) that have seen the greatest increase in the number of students checking out materials in Sora between these two months will be declared the winner, and even score some fabulous prizes!
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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/.
