September Usage Statistics, User Login Manager Cleanup, FAQ: Content Access Levels, & Much More!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We missed you all last week but are making up for it by stuffing loads of helpful information into this week’s message:

September’s Shared Collection Usage Statistics Available

The WSDLC’s consortium-wide usage statistics for last month have been compiled and are ready to be viewed. September’s numbers show that the shared collection’s total titles available are higher than ever (41,204 total copies!), we’ve hit a new record with the average number of users checking out titles per day (825!), and circulation numbers are back into the triple digits, surpassing where they were at this time last year.

You can download the full statistics .xlsx spreadsheet that 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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User Login Manager Cleanup

For our members that use User Login Manager, it’s cleanup time! Over the next few weeks, please go through and make sure to add credentials for new students and remove those students who have left your school or district. For more information on how to do this, please reach out to Amanda Lawman at aizuka-lawman@overdrive.com.

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Recent update to system requirements for Sora and OverDrive

As of September 30, 2021, the web certificate provider Let’s Encrypt no longer supports certain older operating systems. As a result of this change, the following is now in effect:

  • Sora’s minimum iOS version is now iOS 10.
  • To use Sora on an iOS device, users are required to update their device’s operating system to iOS 10 or newer. These are the steps to help iOS users update their operating system version.
  • The legacy OverDrive for Mac desktop app is only supported on macOS versions 10.12.1 through 10.14. Users on legacy web browsers may experience issues loading sorapp.com and should upgrade to a newer browser version, if possible.

OverDrive had been told that affected users would receive a security warning after the Let’s Encrypt change, but they’ve since learned that a warning is not always displayed. Users may experience issues with signing in, borrowing, loading the app’s content, etc.
For more information and troubleshooting tips, check out Sora Help. If you have any questions, please contact the WSDLC project managers at wsldc-info@wils.org.

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Flipped Classrooms: MARC Records is Underway

October 1st began our Flipped Classroom training series on MARC Records. The MARC Records flipped classroom is short, sweet, and 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.

During our Flipped Classroom months, materials on various topics are available for members to review, and OverDrive staff is ready to schedule one-on-one 20-minute sessions to answer your questions. If you have any questions or comments on the flipped classroom content, please let us know; we’d love to hear what you’re thinking!

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FAQ: What Are Sora’s Contact Access Levels, and How Are Titles Leveled Within the Shared Collection?

There are three collections, or content access levels, available in OverDrive’s Sora:

  • Juvenile: Rated for grades K-5, ages 5-11
  • Young Adult: Rated for grades 6-8, ages 12-14
  • Adult: Rated for grades 9-12, ages 15-18

These three content access levels, Juvenile, Young Adult, and Adult, were created with public libraries in mind, before the development of Sora. Titles are placed into one of these three content access levels based on the metadata OverDrive receives from publishers. When a title is purchased and added into the WSDLC shared collection, one of the WSDLC’s Account Managers at OverDrive and WSDLC Project Managers will look at the pre-assigned content access level and will reassign as needed based on the School Library Journal’s recommendations. Titles that haven’t been reviewed yet by the SLJ are added into the collection that is a level-higher than the metadata recommends until a SLJ review is available. Any titles that fall on the high-end of the Juvenile or Young Adult access level will be leveled up, and instead included in the YA or Adult collection. (For example, if a title is rated for ages 14+, it will be included in the Adult/9-12 collection instead of YA.)

You can learn more by viewing the WSDLC’s Collection Development Policy.

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Back to School Webinar: Recording Available (until the end of the week)

On September 15th, OverDrive Account Executive Connie Bowman and Account Managers Edwin Tucker and Lena Richardson hosted a Back to School webinar that focused on what’s new in Sora and Marketplace, how WSDLC members can make the most of their Advantage accounts, and answered members’ questions.
The recording of this webinar is still available to view by going to the following link and entering the passcode:
September 15th/Session 2 Webinar Recording:
https://overdrive.zoom.us/rec/share/Zv_vEc9AqTohlaXOLBT3qhC7rLP_UMWcxjWQwl4jor1Aj2hxuZ8QPMDP_i6RD7UR.zxNvUJnjHd4Nrzrt
Passcode: *JwWM23z

Note: You must be logged in to Zoom to access the recording. This recording will no longer be available to view after October 15th.

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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