I'm in a K-4 building and debating whether to invest more in ebooks as I believe kids are using them more in the current environment.  Any other elementary librarians have a point of view about the platforms being discussed?

Andrea Clark
aclark57@gmail.com
Library Media Specialist
Booth Hill School
Shelton, CT
arclark@sheltonpublicschools.org
working from home
Badges2020_5.png


On Fri, May 8, 2020 at 8:50 AM Szilagyi, Nella <nszilagyi@wethersfield.me> wrote:
Hi - to follow up on what Melissa said, our district uses Sora from OverDrive for our k-12 students. We love Sora. For several reasons:
  1. Easy access- Our students and staff can log into Sora using their school login credentials. 
  2. Easy to use- device agnostic and syncs across devices so that users can easily pick up where they left off
  3. Easy access to the public library OverDrive account with a public library card- just add the public library in settings.
  4. Bookmarking, highlighting, and annotation tools 
  5. Various lending models to help you maximize your collection and increase student access to books
    SORA (1).jpg
The downsides are:
  1. Not all books are available in digital formats, but this is true for all digital book vendor/platforms 
  2. Some books are very expensive 
  3. Currently, the Sora app itself does not incorporate text to reader features and it doesn't support the use of many of the existing text to reader apps due to the DRM, except for Snap&Read which is not free 
While I really like Follett's catalog and print book services, I did not find the Follett ebook platform as user-friendly and reliable as OverDrive's, especially since they've added the Sora App specifically for schools. I would love to learn more about Mackin's digital book program, but right now I can't see why WPS would pursue that as we've been with OverDRive for 7 years and our public library is with OverDrive as well.

Hope this helps:)
                                 Note email address change: nszilagyi@wethersfield.me

Nella Szilagyi


On Fri, May 8, 2020 at 7:48 AM <casl-l-request@mylist.net> wrote:
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   1. Re: In the market for ebooks and audiobooks (Lizanne Johnson)
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      (Melissa Thom)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lizanne Johnson <ljohnson1@groton.k12.ct.us>
To: Melissa Thom <melissa_thom@whps.org>, "Hansard, Cyndi" <chansard@parishhill.org>
Cc: Cas-l Listserv <casl-l@mylist.net>
Bcc: 
Date: Fri, 8 May 2020 11:09:51 +0000
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] In the market for ebooks and audiobooks

Following. I have some money to spend too. Follow up question: How do the students handle all the different platforms if they are used to using Destiny? (And my district still won’t use Sora – so far) MAckin has some great deals on right now too.  

 

From: Melissa Thom [mailto:melissa_thom@whps.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2020 9:02 PM
To: Hansard, Cyndi <chansard@parishhill.org>
Cc: Cas-l Listserv <casl-l@mylist.net>
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] In the market for ebooks and audiobooks

 

Hello!

 

In my district, the middle and high schools use Sora which is the school version of Overdrive.  We love it!!  Mackin and Abdo also have a lot of great content for e-books so check them out too:)

 

And we are trying to connect our readers with Hoopla through the public library!!!

 

Feel free to reach out for more info at any point:)

 

Melissa

 


Melissa Thom

@MsThomBookitis

Bristow Middle School Teacher Librarian

West Hartford Public Schools

Bristow Library Learning Commons Webpage: http://bit.ly/BristowLibrary

Follow us on Twitter: @bristowllc

Follow me on Goodreads 

Join the Libro.fm ACL and receive free audiobooks each month! Use my referal code: lfm82519

 

6648600223023104.png

 

Currently Reading:     

Ten Thousand Doors in January by Alix Harrow

The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf (#BookPosse)

Currently Listening:

Can You See Me by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott (audible)

Recently Finished:      

Keep it Together, Keiko Carter (#BookPosse)

The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling (#BookPosse)

How to Disappear Completely by Ali Standish***HIGHLY RECOMMEND

The Colossus of Roads by Christina Uss (#BookPosse)

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie (Hoopla audio)

Don't Check Out This Book by Kate Klise (#BookPosse)

White Bird by RJ Palacio ***AMAZING STORY

Tune it Out by Jamie Sumner (Netgalley)

The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

 

Hope To Read Soon:

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

Mananaland by Pam Munoz Ryan

 

Check out my blog all about books and reading!  

Follow me on Twitter @msthombookitis                            

 

 

On Thu, May 7, 2020 at 8:17 PM Hansard, Cyndi <chansard@parishhill.org> wrote:

Hi all,
My school currently has zero ebooks or audiobooks. This seems like the perfect time to get started. What do you recommend?
Thanks!

Cyndi Hansard
Parish Hill Middle/High School
Chaplin, CT

Currently reading:
The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault

Recently finished:
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Melissa Thom <melissa_thom@whps.org>
To: casl list serv <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Fri, 8 May 2020 07:47:36 -0400
Subject: [CASL-L] Hope to 'see' all of you at nErDcampCT Virtual Style:)
Good Morning,

If you haven't already, remember to sign up for nErDcampCT on June 13th!!
For registration and more info, go to http://casl.wildapricot.org/nerdcampct.

We have some amazing authors who have registered but it wouldn't be the same without all of YOU! Please come to both learn and share your literacy/book knowledge and expertise in true (virtual) edcamp fashion.

If you aren't familiar with the nErDcamp model, you can learn more here.  

Have a great Friday!!
Melissa
Nerdcamp Logo (1).png
Melissa Thom
@MsThomBookitis
Bristow Middle School Teacher Librarian
West Hartford Public Schools
Bristow Library Learning Commons Webpage: http://bit.ly/BristowLibrary
Follow us on Twitter: @bristowllc
Follow me on Goodreads 
Join the Libro.fm ACL and receive free audiobooks each month! Use my referal code: lfm82519

6648600223023104.png

Register for nErDcampCT Virtual Style on June 13th!! 
Currently Reading:     
Ten Thousand Doors in January by Alix Harrow
The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf (#BookPosse)
Currently Listening:
Can You See Me by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott (audible)
Recently Finished:      
Keep it Together, Keiko Carter (#BookPosse)
The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling (#BookPosse)
How to Disappear Completely by Ali Standish***HIGHLY RECOMMEND
The Colossus of Roads by Christina Uss (#BookPosse)
The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie (Hoopla audio)
Don't Check Out This Book by Kate Klise (#BookPosse)
White Bird by RJ Palacio ***AMAZING STORY
Tune it Out by Jamie Sumner (Netgalley)
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

Hope To Read Soon:
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
Mananaland by Pam Munoz Ryan

Check out my blog all about books and reading!  
Follow me on Twitter @msthombookitis                            

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
This West Hartford Public Schools e-mail may contain confidential information. It is intended solely for the original designated recipient(s).
Any other use is prohibited and access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized.
Any opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by WHPS.
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