Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Smart school website updates: The Wish List

One of the reasons that I love working at OverDrive is the opportunity to learn first-hand about new and innovative products that the company is creating for schools. I am lucky in that I get a behind-the-scenes view (totally like a backstage pass) of working projects and brainstormed ideas that sometimes become a reality. I especially enjoy the opportunity to comment from a teacher’s point of view on the applicability of a website feature or if something would be aesthetically pleasing to students. I naturally think, if only I could have had this when I was teaching! But I am happy for teachers and school librarians who have eBooks in their classroom.

Recently, two new updates have arrived on the school digital library website. All current K-12 school customers may notice the smart changes tot he Wish List function. Before the updates, the wish list was a static reference list of titles. I can compare it to the spiral notebook that I keep on my desk here at OverDrive (I write down any book titles I am personally interested in on the inside front cover). While it is a helpful list, I can’t do much with it except browse it to find something I added previously. The new and updated Wish List is much more dynamic.

 

With the Wish List, you can borrow, place a hold or go to your bookshelf:

wishlist01

 

On that same page, you can now sort by what is “Available now.” That will filter your full wish list to only the titles that are available immediately for you. Just click the “Borrow” button and enjoy the book.

Wishlist02

You also don’t need to constantly go back to your Wish List to see what may have become available. The “My Account” section provides a brief summary/overview of your account, and now includes the number of items from your wish list that are available.

Wishlist03

As always, you may contact your Collection Development Specialist with any questions you may have, or for further information.

Renee Lienhard is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.

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