Weekly Message: April 4, 2023

Happy Tuesday, and more importantly, Happy School Librarian Day!
April is School Library Month, and we’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for the special and important work that you do for your students. School libraries, and the people that work in them, are such an integral piece of a student’s education- supporting students’ learning (both classroom and personal interests), hosting opportunities and events, and so much more! You are so appreciated.

In this week’s message, we’re still sending out the call for volunteers to be a part of the Selection Advisory Committee (which closes Thursday!), and nominations from members in CESAs 9 and 11 to be on the WSDLC Board. Since it’s the first Tuesday of a new month, we have last month’s Sora usage statistics for you, and we’re also sharing some upcoming Webinar opportunities from WEMTA and OverDrive.

Nominations are Open for WSDLC’s Governance Positions

WSDLC Board

Nominations are now being accepted for seats on the WSDLC board from WSDLC Member Representatives at schools or districts in the following CESA areas: CESA 9 and CESA 11.

The Board Operational Guidelines for the consortium call for the WSDLC Board to include one representative from each CESA area, elected by member representatives from WSDLC member districts. To be eligible for a seat on the WSDLC Board, nominees must be their district’s Member Representative. Terms are for three years, and will begin on September 1st, 2023. Board members are asked to meet certain expectations:

    • To participate in all meetings and to come prepared to meetings in order to effectively participate in discussions and decision-making.
    • To work well in a collaborative group setting.
    • To complete tasks on behalf of the Board between meetings.
    • To monitor and track the budget to ensure fidelity between the work conducted and the available funds.
    • To monitor and track the contract with the project manager.
    • To responsibly represent the project to partners.
    • To advocate for the project, as the position allows.
    • To review and approve the WSDLC contract annually with the project manager.
    • To share local items of interest and to bring member input or suggestions to the Board that pertain to the project.

The WSDLC Board holds regular meetings 4-6 times per year, and all meetings are online. A total commitment of around 7 hours per year is expected.
You can find more information about the WSDLC Board and read the Board Operational Guidelines on the WSDLC Governance webpage.
The nominations period will run through the end of the day on April 14th. Nominees from CESAs with open seats are asked to complete a brief nominations form.
Nominate a WSDLC Member Representative from CESA 9 or 11 here: https://forms.gle/YhXMYEwT6X7kRZgz7

*FINAL DAYS* WSDLC Selection Advisory Committee

We are also seeking volunteers to serve on the WSDLC’s Selection Advisory Committee, to begin on September 1st, 2023!>

The Selection Advisory Committee recommends the scope and direction of the collections included in the WSDLC, and they advise the project manager and vendors on operational collection decisions, including content to be included and budget allocations, as directed by the Board and Collection Development Policy. The Committee meets 4 times per year, and committee members will serve 2-year terms, with the option to serve two consecutive terms.

You can view the full Selection Advisory Guidelines, which includes the committee’s full charge, membership, member expectations, and meeting schedule details, here.
To qualify for the Selection Advisory Committee, volunteers must be a library media specialist from a WSDLC participating district/school. We will be accepting volunteers to serve on the Selection Advisory Committee through Thursday, April 6th.

You can complete the Selection Advisory Committee volunteer form here: https://forms.gle/bKso3dYfUhFgU13o6
Volunteers will be notified by the end of April whether they have been selected by the Board to serve on the Selection Advisory Committee.

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March Usage Statistics

The numbers for March have been compiled, and we’re happy to report that as usual, usage is right on track with what is expected:

  • Audiobooks Checked Out: 20,171
  • Ebooks Checked Out: 113,944
  • Magazines Checked Out: 4,651 (Which was more than January and February of this year combined!)

>Also in March, there were 29,599 individual students that checked out a title! Looking at years past, March 2022 had 27,332 students checking out titles, and March 2021 had 22,368.

The average waiting period for titles on hold has crept up slightly, and we’re now looking at nearly a 19-day wait time for popular titles. Though typically, there is a brief surge in the average wait time that corresponds with spring breaks throughout the state, and we expect these wait times to drop again when we run the stats for next month.

You can download the full calendar year’s statistics .xlsx spreadsheet, which 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. New this month, we also have these statistics available as a Google Sheet! No more downloads to view the year-to-date statistics! You can view the new stats sheet here!

If there are any other statistics that you would like to see reflected on this sheet, let the WSDLC Project Managers know at wsldc-info@wils.org.

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Reminder: 2023-24 Membership Renewal Pricing Now Available

DPI’s 2022-23 certified enrollment numbers were released via WISEdash in March, and all quotes for 2023-24 have been emailed to each district’s Main Contact. Included in the email is also a link where schools can indicate their intention to renew, as well as indicate updates to their contacts or access.
If you did not receive your quote, please reach out to the WSDLC Project Managers at wsdlc-info@wils.org to have it [re]sent to you.

​Details on Pricing Quote Calculation
WSDLC renewal pricing is based on DPI’s certified enrollment numbers for the previous academic year. To calculate costs for the 2023-24 WSDLC membership year, we will be using the FTE data for 2022-23.

A couple of reminders:

  • In March 2021, the WSDLC Board approved a 3% increase for each of the following three membership years, and the price will be $1.65 per student for the 23-24 membership year.
  • Even though WiLS is the Project Manager for the WSDLC, WSDLC members do not need to be WiLS Cooperative Purchasing members to enroll. Because of this, WiLS Cooperative Purchasing members will not find their WSDLC renewal information in MyWiLS.
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Flipped Classrooms: Marketing is Underway!

April begins 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!

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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In the Community: Upcoming Webinars

​WEMTA Webinar – WEMTA Professional Development

​Joyce McIntosh and Dr. Kristina Weber will provide an overview of current challenges faced by school librarians and library staff and cover the policies, people, and tools that can help you get through the process. They will also review language that is being used to censor materials, use scenarios to help form a response to challenges, and share information about current issues specific to Wisconsin.
Cost: Free for WEMTA members, $15 for Non-Members
Date: Tuesday, April 11th
Time: 6:30pm – 7:30 pm
Click here to learn more, and to register!

OverDrive Webinar – Sora Essentials: The Reader Experience

Ready to learn the basics of Sora so you can start exploring and help others get started, too? Join us live for our demo and ask questions of our K-12 experts.
This session is primarily a demonstration of the user experience in Sora, the student reading app. Students and educators have access to all of the same great features within the app. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:

  • Sign in with your school credentials
  • Browse, borrow, and enjoy ebooks & audiobooks
  • Personalize the reading experience with adjustable settings
  • Define words & create annotations
  • Add a public library to expand access to even more digital books

Date: Daily from April 19 – May 12!
Time: 2:00pm
Registration Link: https://overdrive.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9LSkcAtDQXmM-4DKMjmafw

OverDrive Webinar – Marketplace Essentials: The Shopping & Admin Portal

Ready to learn the basics of Marketplace, the shopping and administrative portal? Join us live for our demo and ask questions of our K-12 experts.
This session is primarily a demonstration of OverDrive Marketplace, the shopping and administrative portal. We’ll explore Marketplace through the lens of a first-time user, including how to:

  • Browse the catalog
  • Build and purchase a cart
  • Assign a title
  • Run a report and view Sora activity
  • Access your account team’s contact information

Date: Weekly from April 20 – May 10!
Time: 11:00am
Registration Link: https://overdrive.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MBSYZEMuTu6tIE274Io7_w

*Note: The OverDrive Webinars are not WSDLC-specific, and may cover options/settings that are not available for consortium members.

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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