Nominations for the WSDLC Board: 2 Weeks Left ● All New Flipped Classroom: Marketing & Training ● In Case You Missed It: Comics & Graphic Novels

Nominate Yourself or a Colleague for the WSDLC Board!

Board membership is a vital part of the WSDLC, and we are asking all member representatives to please consider if you can participate. The Board member guidelines are simple, and we try to keep meetings and outside work to a minimum.
    • Terms are three years (there are no term limits) and begin on September 1st.
    • A total commitment of around 7 hours per year is expected.
    • Meetings are held via Zoom, and there are 4-6 meetings per year.
    • Information for meetings is shared beforehand via Basecamp to allow Board members to participate in discussions and decision-making effectively.
    • Advocate for the project and participate in fundraising efforts, as the position allows.
    • Oversee the monitoring and tracking of the WSDLC budget to ensure fidelity between the work conducted and the available funds.
    • Monitor and track the contract with the project manager.

We are seeking nominations for Board Members from schools or districts in the following CESA areas: CESA 1, CESA 4, CESA 6, CESA 7, CESA 8, CESA 10, CESA 11, CESA 12. We have nominations from CESA 1, CESA 6, and CESA 8 already (Thank you so much!); lets keep those nominations coming!

 

There are only two qualifications to be considered for nomination: 
  1. The nominee’s school must be a WSDLC Member, and 
  2. The nominee must be the district’s Member Representative.
    Member Representatives can be anyone at your district: a library media specialist, curriculum expert, technology consultant, or an administrator. The Member Representative can be reappointed at any time; just send an email to wsdlc-info@wils.org to have your district’s Member Representative confirmed or updated. Along with being able to run for the WSDLC Board, the Member Representative is the only person from a district that is eligible to vote in the Board election.
 
Please consider nominating yourself or a colleague (with their permission) by completing this brief nominations form by the end of the day on Friday, April 15th!
Voting will open on Monday, April 18th, and runs through May 6th.
Please email wdlc-info@wils.org with any questions. 
We appreciate your consideration!
● ● ●

Flipped Classroom: Marketing & Training

This is our final month of the WSDLC’s Flipped Classroom training program, and it focuses on Marketing and Training! We know this is a hot topic for many of you, and we hope that the ideas and resources we’ve pulled together here can work as a jumping point to implement your own marketing strategies. Included are:
  • Lists of marketing techniques and actions from other WSDLC members and from the OverDrive team;
  • Links to the OverDrive blog’s school library marketing spotlight and previous School Stars winners;
  • Downloadable/Printable flyers, bookmarks, social media images, a coloring page, and so much more that are free to use; and
  • Training Modules from OverDrive that you can send to your students and teachers!
And speaking of marketing, did you know that there is an open document where WSDLC members can share their marketing and promotion ideas? You can find that document here! Contributions are always being made (there was even a new one in the last couple of weeks!), so check back often, and feel free to add your own marketing wins.
New to Flipped Classrooms? 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.
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments on the flipped classroom content; we’d love to hear what you’re thinking!
● ● ●

It’s National Library Week! Reminder on Intellectual Freedom Resources

Happy National Library Week! As you all know, the services and resources that school libraries provide to students and districts as a whole are incredibly important. We’d like to take a brief moment to share out a few Intellectual Freedom resources that are available to support WSDLC members (and all libraries).
  • The WSDLC recently shared out a statement in response to content challenges WSDLC members are facing. You can read, and share out, that statement here.
  • The WSDLC also has a page dedicated to Intellectual Freedom Resources. Included are links to the Statement shared above, the Collection Development Policy, and helpful pages and resources. from the CCBC, ALA, and AASL. Click Here to view the Intellectual Freedom Resources page.
  • There are also a few national movements to record book challenges the schools are facing.
    • If your school faces challenges to any materials, you can anonymously record these to the ALA here.
    • The ALA is also hosting a program where you can Share Your Story: Click this link to record or upload a video talking about why it is important to you for students to have the freedom to read.
● ● ●

In Case You Missed It: More Comics and Graphic Novels Are Now Available in Sora!

Last week, a collection of over 1,700 Comics & Graphic Novels became available in Sora! This collection includes popular imprints such as DC Comics, Marvel, Image Comics, and so many more! Just like the magazine collection, these titles are Simultaneous Use with no holds or waitlists, and have content available for every grade level!
Learn more about the Comics & Graphic Novel collection and grab some promotional resources here: https://resources.overdrive.com/k-12-schools/apps-features/comics-graphic-novels/
Find the Comics in Sora! collection through this (shareable!) link: https://soraapp.com/library/wsdlcwi/curated-1316122/page-1
● ● ●

Upcoming Webinars from OverDrive

We wanted to share some webinars hosted by OverDrive that are coming up soon that may be of interest to many of you:
Marketplace Essentials
Tuesday April 12th at 2:00pm – 2:45pm
Marketplace Essentials session is intended for educators brand new to Marketplace who want to:
    • Learn the basics of digital content and how it differs from print
    • Explore how digital libraries work, including the difference between shared & Advantage collections
    • Sign in and navigate Marketplace
    • Discover how Sora and Marketplace connect to meet the needs of educators & students
    • Browse the digital catalog, build carts, and purchase titles in Marketplace
    • Join us live to ask questions of our K-12 experts and walk away with a better understanding of digital content and how Marketplace’s features can benefit you and your school community.
All attendees will receive a comprehensive resource packet to review and explore Marketplace basics on their own time and at their own pace.


Marketplace Connections: Advocate for Your Digital Collection with Data and Insights
Thursday April 21st at 2:00pm – 2:45 pm
Join OverDrive experts to learn how to prepare a collection of reports that demonstrate the impact of your school’s digital collection. In this session, you’ll learn to:
  • Run impactful reports to advocate for budget, access, and recognition.
  • Improve workflow with SmartCarts and other automated features.
  • Dive into data on usage, interest, and the health of your collection.
A recording of each webinar will be sent the day after the live session for all registrants.
 
● ● ●
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/.