Weekly Message: August 22nd, 2023

Good morning and happy Tuesday! In this week’s message, we’re continuing our [Re]Introduction to the WSDLC series- highlighting the history of the WSDLC and usage statistics. There are also some updates and newly-developed resources from OverDrive that we are thrilled to share. And to top this message off, we have a list of the new titles that were added to the shared collections last month.

[Re]Introduction to the WSDLC: History & Statistics

History

In 2014, WiLS was hired by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to help explore the possibility of a statewide ebook consortium for schools in Wisconsin. In 2015, this project culminated in a report of a process to explore the school ebook landscape, based on a survey of library media specialists to learn about their needs. Just a few months later, leading into 2016, a Think-Tank consisting of library media specialists, CESA 2 and CESA Statewide Network representatives, a school business representative, and a DPI representative formed. This Think-Tank drafted a structure of WSDLC that was presented at WEMTA 2016, and feedback was collected from the community. Based on this feedback, an interim board worked to create the WSDLC’s operational guidelines, cost sharing models, collection policies, and other foundational elements for the project. In February of 2017, an RFP was developed and released, and the WSDLC was presented at the 2017 WEMTA conference. The RFP was then reviewed and finalized in April 2017. In January 2018, the WSDLC went live, with the collection consisting of only ebooks. In early 2019, audiobooks were added to the shared collection; in October 2021, magazines were added to the mix; and in January 2022, comics and graphic novels were made available to WSDLC members as well.

View the complete history, with more details, on the WSDLC website.

Statistics

Usage of materials available in the WSDLC, along with the collections themselves, have grown immensely since the collections went live in 2018. What began as a 134-district consortium, providing ebook access to 146,933 students, has since become a 250+ district consortium, providing access to ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines to nearly 350,000 of Wisconsin’s students!

Each month, the WSDLC Project Managers compile consortium-wide statistics and post them to the website. These stats include the number of checkouts each month, broken down by ebook, audiobook, and magazine; number of purchased titles and copies; total number of holds, both historically and
current (as of the start of the month); a count of the individual students using the collections; and the average waiting period. Each quarter, the Top 10 Most Popular Titles with Holds are also reported on.
You can view the consortium’s usage statistics, and download the full spreadsheet, here: https://wsdlc.org/about/year-to-date-statistics/

By logging in to Marketplace and navigating to Insights, WSDLC members can also view usage at the consortium-level, or by using the filters for each report can narrow the reports down to their own school/district.
You can learn more about how to use Marketplace Insights to see your district’s/schools’ usage here: https://wsdlc.org/usage-statistics/

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Updates From OverDrive: Back-to-School Resources + a New Feature!

Back to School Resource Center

Our partners at OverDrive have been hard at work preparing resources to help make it easier for you and your teachers to get the most out of Sora, just in time for back-to-school! Follow the links below to access a wealth of information that is geared for seasoned and new Sora users alike!

Back to School Sale

OverDrive’s annual Back to School sale is on! Between now and September 30th, you can find amazing deals on over 100,000 titles! If you have the funds/content credit to spend, now is a great time to do it! Get additional copies of popular titles that will be available for only your students; supplement your physical collection; or find some hidden gems!
Log in to your Marketplace account then click here to view more information about this sale and view OverDrive’s featured sale collections!

New Feature: Advantage Filtering

The advantage filtering tool is now available for all districts and schools in the WSDLC. This feature allows you to control consortia books inside the elementary, middle and high school collections. Please watch the below video to learn more or reach out to wsdlc@overdrive.com for support.
https://resources.overdrive.com/k-12-schools/how-to-videos/marketplace/

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Sora Sweet Reads Ending Soon

OverDrive’s annual summer reading program, Sora Sweet Reads, is wrapping up. The Sora Sweet Reads collection is filled with simultaneous use titles for all reading levels, and is available to all WSDLC members through August 28th. You can find out more about this program on the Sora Sweet Reads page.

Even though there are still a few days left of this incredible collection, as of right now, the WSDLC is again in the top-5 for the highest number of checkouts from the Sora Sweet Reads Collection nationally! This is an exciting achievement, made all the sweeter by knowing it’s because of all of YOU, the Library Media Specialists of Wisconsin, and your hard work promoting the WSDLC collections to your students ahead of summer break.

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New Titles Added in July

In July, 267 completely new titles were added in to the WSDLC shared collections!
Of these titles:

  • 254 are Ebooks: 158 to the Juvenile collection; 50 to the Young Adult collection; and 46 to the Adult collection,
  • 13 are Audiobooks: 5 to the Juvenile collection; 3 to the Young Adult collection; and 5 to the Adult collection,
  • 61 titles are Simultaneous Use, and
  • there are 69 subjects, with the top 5 being:
    • 118 titles in Juvenile Nonfiction,
    • 70 titles in Juvenile Fiction,
    • 58 titles in Sociology,
    • 53 titles in Juvenile Literature, and
    • 35 titles in Young Adult Fiction
      Additional subject areas include: Fantasy, Comics & Graphic Novels, Suspense, Folklore, Crafts, Pets, and Language Arts.

A complete list of all the new titles added in July, along with their format and content access level(s), are attached to this email as both an .xlsx file and a PDF file, and can also be viewed as a Google Sheet here.

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Flipped Classroom Training Begins September 1st!

Did you know that the WSDLC offers a self-paced training series to help new members get oriented (and as a refresher for returning members) with their membership? Well, we do!

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 are 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 on their own 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/
You can find the full calendar of self-paced training topics here: https://wsdlc.org/training/wsdlc-training-schedule/

If you want to get a head start, September’s Flipped Classroom theme is Getting Started.
See you there!

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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