MANSFIELD – As educators seek more creative ways to support students’ learning, a key resource for schools is the local public library.
Now, Mansfield Richland County Public Library and Mansfield City School District formed an innovative new partnership to increase students’ access to eBooks and digital audiobooks by combining the library’s and school’s digital reading resources in one app.
The library-school partnership provides safe access to thousands of age-appropriate titles for students’ use inside the classroom, at home and anywhere 24/7. Through Sora, the new student reading app for Mansfield City School District, students can now borrow from the school’s collection of classroom and pleasure reading as well as from Mansfield Richland County Public Library’s juvenile and young adult digital collection.
Students can easily log into the library’s digital collection through Sora using their school credentials rather than requiring a separate library card. In addition, Sora supports teachers by offering education-specific tools like achievements, exportable notes, and reading progress that encourage individualized learning.
“We are excited to extend eBook lending to the students at Mansfield City Schools,” said Chris May, Mansfield Richland County Public Library Director. “This partnership creates a streamlined way to build a love of reading to the students of both communities.”
Karen Stallsmith, Librarian at Mansfield Malabar Intermediate School Library, added, “Thanks to the Mansfield Richland County Public Library, our Mansfield City School District students now have access to thousands of digital books. Using our school credentials, students can borrow digital resource material and age-appropriate books using the Sora app – all available to them 24/7. Our libraries have a limited supply of books, but with our new partnership with MRCPL, Mansfield City Schools can now offer almost any book our students wish to read!”
The Sora app was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions 2019 and is available for Mansfield City School District students to download through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and on Chromebooks that support the Google Play Store. It is also available for use in web browsers at https://soraapp.com on any computer.
Since Mansfield Richland County Public Library is a member of The Ohio Digital Library, the entire Richland County community can also borrow and read The Ohio Digital Library’s complete eBook, audiobook and digital magazine collection. With a valid library card from Mansfield Richland County Public Library and the award-winning Libby app, patrons can enjoy thousands of eBooks, audiobooks and digital magazines including bestsellers and new releases.
Readers of all ages can select from virtually every subject ranging from mystery, romance, children’s, business and more. Libby can be used on any major device or computer, including Apple (R), Android, Chromebook and Kindle(R) (U.S. only).
The Libby and Sora apps were built by OverDrive and OverDrive Education respectively. To learn more, visit www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/ and https://company.overdrive.com/k-12-schools/discover-sora/.
