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School Library Participation

Students may obtain access to and borrow items from the IDEA collection at the school district level via the Sora app. There are no initial or ongoing costs to school districts. OverDrive connects with your existing sign-in method to authenticate your users. OverDrive does not collect data or have students create accounts. Through the authentication process, student data is protected and students will not need a special library card to check out materials.

FAQs

There is no cost to your school/district. Your district has the option to purchase your own titles, which would not be shared beyond your school district. Additional purchases are NOT required.

No, there are no ongoing costs for schools to participate in the IDEA.

Take a look at our collection development policy, which includes criteria for purchasing.

Two weeks is the standard checkout period for e-books and e-audio titles from the IDEA collection, but students can select 7, 14, 21, or 28 days at checkout.

Please choose one of two ways to get this collection into the hands of students:

School districts in Idaho with OverDrive/Sora access should follow these steps:

  1. Seek internal approval for the entire school district to participate in the IDEA. Many schools include the superintendent and school IT staff in this decision.
  2. Complete the Participating School Consent Form. This form should be emailed to connect@overdrive.com or returned by fax to 216-573-6889.
  3. Wait 2-4 weeks for an email from OverDrive indicating that your school’s Public Library Connect (PLC) is in place. This is the step that will connect your school’s Sora app with the IDEA collection.
  4. Using the Sora app, each student/user will need to add a library,  the “IDEA by ICfL”. (Here is a 1-minute YouTube video showcasing this step.)
  5. Students/Users will now be able to check out IDEA titles without a special library card.

School districts in Idaho without OverDrive/Sora access should follow these steps:

  1. Seek internal approval for the entire school district to participate. Many schools include the superintendent and school IT staff in this decision.
  2. Sign up for the free Sora Starter platform via Overdrive’s Activation Form. When completing this online form, make note of a check box to OPT-OUT of Public Library Connect. As long as you do not OPT-OUT, connection to the IDEA collection will be included as part of the setup and authentication process.
  3. Wait 1-2 weeks for someone from OverDrive to contact you to work with your designated IT staff to connect your school district’s existing sign-in method to the Sora app.
  4. Wait 2-4 weeks for an email, from OverDrive, indicating that your school has been connected to the Sora app. Follow the instructions in the email to download and set up the Sora app. At this point your students will have access to the free Sora starter collection of about 400 titles.
  5. Later, you will receive another email from OverDrive indicating that your school’s Public Library Connect (PLC) is in place. This is the step that will connect your school’s Sora app with the IDEA collection.
  6. Each student/user will need download the Sora app on their device, login using their SIS identification, and add a library,  the “IDEA by ICfL”. (Here is a 1-minute YouTube video showcasing this step.)
  7. Students/Users will now be able to check out IDEA titles without a special library card.

When setting up the Sora connection to your school, you will be allowed to choose age parameters. The default filtering in Sora is those in grades K-5 have access to only juvenile titles, grades 6-8 have access to only juvenile and YA titles, and those in grades 9-12 (as well as faculty and staff) have access to juvenile, YA, and general adult titles. However, you can contact OverDrive/Sora to change those defaults if you want. Mature titles are not available through the Sora app. (Unfortunately, you cannot adjust individual titles.) If you think that a title’s access level is incorrect, please reach out to Marina Rose at marina.rose@libraries.idaho.gov.

You can still participate. OverDrive has a way to help you, using their User Login Manager. Contact OverDrive Education Account Executive Suzy Nash (snash@overdrive.com) for details.

To check on the status of your school district’s OverDrive/Sora access and connection to IDEA, please contact OverDrive Education Account Executive Suzy Nash directly at snash@overdrive.com or 216-573-6886 x1370.

Yes, multiple copies will be purchased as holds for those titles increase.

Each student will need to add the IDEA collection to their personal Sora app. This only needs to happen one time. Here is a short video showing how that is done.

OverDrive is the company from which we are purchasing e-books and e-audio. OverDrive has created an app specifically for schools: Sora. Students will access and read e-books and e-audio through the Sora app. IDEA is the statewide collection/library of e-books and e-audio from which students may check out titles.

Yes, your students can access all the same titles from the website https://soraapp.com/.

While the IDEA collection doesn’t have the capacity to share books through simultaneous use, OverDrive does offer some options for schools to purchase simultaneous use models or rent titles as needed. Please contact your OverDrive school representative for details.

We are currently purchasing titles in Spanish as well as English.

The IDEA collection contains e-books and e-audio titles. The ICfL does provide journal articles, newspapers, and other reference resources through our LiLI service. Visit http://www.lilischools.org/ from more info.

Android, Apple, and Chromebooks will allow access to all the titles. Kindles will have limited access.

Yes, all items are available 24/7/365.

Please contact Marina Rose at marina.rose@libraries.idaho.gov.

View the IDEA Collection
How to:
Install the Sora App
Use the Sora App

IDEA EVENTS

JUMP TO:

Promotional Materials
Bookmarks, Posters, Getting Started Guides for schools using the Sora app
Print Ready IDEA Bookmark sheets for Schools:

Download & Print English Version

Download & Print Spanish Version
Public Library Sign

Public Library Participation

Idahoans without a public library

Idahoans without a public library

FUNDING PARTNERS

Idaho STEM Action Center

This program is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

For more information on the IDEA project in Idaho, please contact Marina Rose at marina.rose@libraries.idaho.gov at the Idaho Commission for Libraries, 208.639.4165.

Marina Rose

E-Resources Library Consultant
Email / 208-639-4165
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