Monday, April 8, 2013

Ideas for Promoting Your OverDrive School Library

               

It's never easy captivating the attention of a child. Believe me, I was one of those kids. However, I know from experience, that a great book will do it every time. Being a teacher or school librarian requires a level of patience and grace I do not possess. I admire their ability to keep calm, to be nurturing but firm and their passion to encourage all of us to pay more attention, to learn a little more. But therein lies our common ground—the learning.

 

The OverDrive School platform was designed to encourage learning and to make kids excited to read again. But, as I mentioned above, it's hard to get their attention. While we cannot command a room of children like you can, we can at least provide a few tools to help. Here are a few a best practices to get the word out that your students have access to an online library that never closes that maybe, might be just a little bit…cool.

  • Utilize our Online Marketing Kit to distribute bookmarks and hang posters about your digital library.
  • Create ID cards to distribute for students with their library card number and OverDrive URL (we can assist with this as well).
  • Speak with parents: Host a demonstration table at an open house event or during parent/teacher conferences.
  • Have English teachers spend 10 minutes at the beginning of a class showing their students the website.
  • Use OverDrive titles on Interactive White Boards to show parts of speech, themes, etc.
  • Have teachers offer extra credit for "eBook reports" using your OverDrive titles.
  • Start a digital book club and have the students pick classic titles to read together from Project Gutenberg, which is available for simultaneous use.
  • Utilize a school Facebook page to share announcements about new titles in the digital library.
  • Mention OverDrive during morning announcements.

 

We can also design a custom suite of materials for you that include your school logo and color scheme to make the site seem even more personalized to your students' needs. As they say in showbiz, it's all in the delivery!

 

Whether your school website is currently live or in development, the practices above will definitely help you spread the word. If that doesn't do it, let the great book selection do the 'talking' for you. I know some of you are quickly approaching the summer months and that usually means a halt in library traffic, but not this year! Tailor your summer reading program to match what's in your digital collection. It's easily accessible, free of charge and you don't have to worry about the cost of keeping the place cool (ha-ha get it…because it's online!). Here are some titles that might be showing up on your summer lists this year:

 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Auggie is an ordinary kid, at least on the inside. This story is a heartbreaking, encouraging, wonderful tale of a boy just trying to fit in. Palacio delivers a lesson in humility and kindness that all of us should learn.

 

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. A love story for the world we live in now. Our hero, Travis, returns home after the horrors of war in Afghanistan to find he has to rebuild his entire life. His brother has stolen his girlfriend and car. His best friend, the voice of reason, was lost in the war Travis is desperately trying to forget. To top it off, he may be falling in love with the girl he used to torture as a child. It's first love told the way it should be—messy, exhilarating and worth all the risk.

 

Hush by Eishes Chayil. Gittel has seen something no thirteen-year-old should. The true horror, however, comes after the fact when Gittel is forced to be silent by the adults she has always trusted. While the super natural elements make this title a very exciting and suspenseful read, it's actually the message at its core that makes it stand above the rest. It echoes what we all went through growing up, choosing to define yourself by what you were taught to be true or by what you've experienced on your own. It's the moment when your past blends with your present and the future is all up to you.

 

To add these titles and more to your school’s collection, visit Content Reserve. Reach out to your school’s Account Specialist for more information and assistance.

 

Christina Bernecker is an Account Specialist at OverDrive.

 

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