I've seen a few questions about OverDrive lending models and Sora usability- so I thought I would repost this in case you find it helpful. It reviews the OverDrive lending models and my experiences with the Follett ebook apps. 

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. NEW: You can work with your public library and participate in OverDrive's Public Library Connect so that your students can add the public library to Sora and access both your district and public library OverDrive collection at once.
  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 and not available in class sets or CPC lending model. 
  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 at the time, especially since OverDrive introduced 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.


                                 Note email address change: nszilagyi@wethersfield.me

Nella Szilagyi


On Thu, Jan 7, 2021 at 10:37 AM <casl-l-request@mylist.net> wrote:
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Today's Topics:

   1. TAR: A Lesson Before Dying in Spanish (Joan Temple)
   2. Purchasing Advice Needed... (Sarah Dolan-Adamec)
   3. Re: TAR: A Lesson Before Dying in Spanish (Oosterwyk, Annie)
   4. Re: Purchasing Advice Needed... (STEPHANIE PATTERSON)
   5. OverDrive/SORA (Paul Pinette)
   6. Re: Purchasing Advice Needed... (Cheryl Robertson)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Joan Temple <templej@region-12.org>
To: casl list serv <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2021 10:01:31 -0500
Subject: [CASL-L] TAR: A Lesson Before Dying in Spanish
Hi All,

Does anyone have A Lesson Before Dying or The Things They Carried in Spanish or know where to find them for purchase?

Joan Temple
Library Media Specialist / VHS Site Coordinator
Grades 6 -12
159 South Street
Washington, CT  06793
860-868-6232

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are. ~Mason Colley

Currently reading (fiction): This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Currently reading (nonfiction): The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sarah Dolan-Adamec <SDolan-Adamec@griswoldpublicschools.org>
To: "CASL-L@mylist.net" <CASL-L@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2021 15:20:57 +0000
Subject: [CASL-L] Purchasing Advice Needed...

Hi Everyone J

 

I have some insurance claim money that needs to be spent ASAP on digital and/or printed books.

 

·         What lists or resources would you consult to make book purchases?

·         Which digital book platforms to you recommend that would not involve a subscription?

·         Have you honestly found that students are taking advantage of digital books? Which grade level?

 

 

I really appreciate your advice!!

 

J Sarah




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Oosterwyk, Annie" <oosterwyka@northstonington.k12.ct.us>
To: Joan Temple <templej@region-12.org>, casl list serv <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2021 15:22:13 +0000
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] TAR: A Lesson Before Dying in Spanish

The Things They Carried is available on Amazon.  I didn’t see the other title.

 

From: CASL-L [mailto:casl-l-bounces@mylist.net] On Behalf Of Joan Temple
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2021 10:02 AM
To: casl list serv
Subject: [CASL-L] TAR: A Lesson Before Dying in Spanish

 

Hi All,

 

Does anyone have A Lesson Before Dying or The Things They Carried in Spanish or know where to find them for purchase?

 

Joan Temple

Library Media Specialist / VHS Site Coordinator

Grades 6 -12

159 South Street

Washington, CT  06793

860-868-6232

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are. ~Mason Colley

Currently reading (fiction): This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Currently reading (nonfiction): The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: STEPHANIE PATTERSON <spatterson@southingtonschools.org>
To: Sarah Dolan-Adamec <SDolan-Adamec@griswoldpublicschools.org>, "CASL-L@mylist.net" <CASL-L@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2021 15:26:17 +0000
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Purchasing Advice Needed...
Digital books have yet to take hold here.

If I needed a fast turnaround, I'd look at the Follett's Pick Lists (because I already purchase there, and they have several easy to thread lists- and they have a service that can create lists for you pretty quickly) and I've always had good feedback from Junior Library Guild categories.

For HS, Mary Haggerty is going to send me the Follett Picks list materials they have for Black/Latinx- and I plan to make some purchases to prepare for the new social studies courses required by the state. 

We are not circulating books on a regular basis. The library has been converted to rows of student desks for assigned study halls with the bookcases pushed up against the walls. I hope we are back to something closer to the old normal for next year.

Stephanie Patterson
Southington High School Library 
"Building character with critical thinking, creativity,
 collaboration and communication."

tel: 860.628.3229 x 11335
From: CASL-L <casl-l-bounces@mylist.net> on behalf of Sarah Dolan-Adamec <SDolan-Adamec@griswoldpublicschools.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 7, 2021 10:20 AM
To: CASL-L@mylist.net <CASL-L@mylist.net>
Subject: [CASL-L] Purchasing Advice Needed...
 

CAUTION: This message has originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening attachments, clicking links, or responding to this email.

Hi Everyone J

 

I have some insurance claim money that needs to be spent ASAP on digital and/or printed books.

 

·         What lists or resources would you consult to make book purchases?

·         Which digital book platforms to you recommend that would not involve a subscription?

·         Have you honestly found that students are taking advantage of digital books? Which grade level?

 

 

I really appreciate your advice!!

 

J Sarah




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Pinette <paulpinette@bristolk12.org>
To: casl-l <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2021 10:36:32 -0500
Subject: [CASL-L] OverDrive/SORA
Good morning,
We recently started using OverDrive/Sora. What lending model are you using?

Paul J. Pinette
Library Media Specialist
Treasurer, Bristol Federation of Teachers
Bristol Central High School
860 584‐7735 ext. 611197

Privileged and confidential. If received in error, please notify me by e‐mail and delete the message.



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cheryl Robertson <robertsonc@guilfordschools.org>
To: Sarah Dolan-Adamec <SDolan-Adamec@griswoldpublicschools.org>
Cc: "CASL-L@mylist.net" <CASL-L@mylist.net>
Bcc: 
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2021 10:37:25 -0500
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Purchasing Advice Needed...
Hi Sarah,
Happy New Year!  I am currently using Junior Library Guild's Streaming Service which has both eBooks and audiobooks with no user limits.  I am getting it for half-price because I subscribe to their print subscription service, so it was a very affordable tool to try this year.  It's too early (just began in December) to say whether or not my students are using it much, but it's nice to have a digital service especially this year when my library is closed to browsing.

When purchasing books, I rely heavily on SLJ reviews, but I also use Common Sense Media, NPR, and the NYTimes Book Review along with the Titlewave reviews.  

Happy spending!
Cheryl

On Thu, Jan 7, 2021 at 10:21 AM Sarah Dolan-Adamec <SDolan-Adamec@griswoldpublicschools.org> wrote:

Hi Everyone J

 

I have some insurance claim money that needs to be spent ASAP on digital and/or printed books.

 

·         What lists or resources would you consult to make book purchases?

·         Which digital book platforms to you recommend that would not involve a subscription?

·         Have you honestly found that students are taking advantage of digital books? Which grade level?

 

 

I really appreciate your advice!!

 

J Sarah

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--
Cheryl A. Robertson
Teacher Librarian, E.C. Adams Middle School

"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty.  It should be offered as a gift." ~Kate DiCamillo

CURRENTLY READING
One Last Shot by John David Anderson
Of Salt and Shore by Annet Schaap
Superman Smashes the Klan by Yang and Gurihiru
Atomic Habits by James Clear

CURRENTLY LISTENING
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

RECENTLY FINISHED
Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson 
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Popular: A Memoir by Maya Van Wagenen
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington 
     by Alexis Coe

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