Index
- OverDrive support training to begin April 21
- SCLS receives $2,000 Magic Pebbles Foundation grant
- Member/Staff News
- Apply for a Smart investing @ your library program grant
- OverDrive App for BlackBerry mobile devices no longer available
- Continuing Education Calendar
OverDrive support training to begin April 21
In March, we told you about the new OverDrive Support Model that we will be implementing in the next couple of months. The target date for the transition from WPLC (via WiLS) providing patron support to local libraries providing patron support for OverDrive is now June 2, 2014. Earlier information indicated that the conversion date would be May 1.
Starting June 2, 2014, this Support Request form found on the Help page of Wisconsin’s Digital Library will be directed to the patron’s local library instead of WiLS. To help WiLS with the transition, please complete this form to provide the preferred email address to which your library would like support requests sent. One email address per library, please!
WiLS has created a five-week OverDrive Support Course that will help library staff troubleshoot common support issues with OverDrive. Jean Anderson, SCLS Continuing Education Consultant, completed the course earlier this year and is now able to offer it to member libraries. While she spent about 30 minutes total each week on the course, your experience may vary based on your level of expertise with OverDrive. Jean highly recommends that at least one person from each library participate in the course, and more are always welcome.
Jean has scheduled the first round of the OverDrive Support Course for April 21-May 23, and registration is now open. This will give everyone a little extra time after the course before the June 2 transition date. If the course doesn’t fit into your schedule, the documentation will be posted on the WPLC web site and we’ll run the course a few more times throughout the year.
For more information, contact Jean Anderson.
SCLS receives $2,000 Magic Pebbles Foundation grant
SCLS has received a $2,000 grant from the Magic Pebbles Foundation, and this money will be put toward the OverDrive Advantage program.
The Magic Pebble Foundation seeks to help create a world that is peaceful and enlightened. The Foundation was established in Wisconsin in 2012 as a nonprofit private foundation to support organizations in Wisconsin, as well as some national and international causes.
The foundation supports organizations that open doors by removing barriers to basic services such as health care, social services and civil rights. It also supports organizations that open minds through education, peace and free speech.
More information about the Magic Pebble Foundation is available online.
Andrew Hoks and his wife Roxanne are the parents of a baby girl, Sylvia Regina, born March 31. Sylvia is 6 pounds, 1 ounce and 18.5" long. Mother and daughter -- and daddy -- are doing great.
The April issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wilawlibrary.gov/newsletter/1404.html.
Apply for a Smart investing @ your library program grant
Interested in applying for a grant from the Smart investing @ your library® program. Grant amounts range from $5,000 to $100,000, and funds may be used for a variety of activities that promote financial literacy in public and community college libraries
Even if you’re library is not interested in applying for a grant, there is great information that may be of interest to you and your customers. Why reinvent the wheel? The following resources are proven winners for creating and managing effective programs about money and finance. You are welcome to use these ideas and resources.
- Market research: Why guess about what to offer? Before introducing a new service, it helps to analyze your target audience needs and make a plan.
- Building Awareness: Brand your programs to generate interest. Borrow from this collection of visual material.
- Education content from FINRA Foundation: Use these tested and approved educational materials from FINRA’s site.
Fro more information, contact Margaret Monsour at (800) 545-2433. The deadline to apply is June 5, 2014.
OverDrive App for BlackBerry mobile devices no longer available
Effective April 10, 2014, the OverDrive Media Console (OMC) mobile app for BlackBerry will no longer be available to download on BlackBerry, BlackBerry 10, and Playbook devices.
BlackBerry users with the app installed prior to April 10 will be able to continue downloading eBooks and audiobooks via OMC. However, no further development or testing will be dedicated to it.
In the past year, OMC for BlackBerry has experienced a steady decline in downloads. Only 0.3% of all visitors to digital library websites come from a BlackBerry device. After much consideration, OverDrive has decided to remove the app from BlackBerry App World and continue to focus its development efforts on more widely used platforms such as iOS and Android—both of which have more daily downloads than BlackBerry has monthly.
Should you have any questions, please contact Support via OverDrive Marketplace > Support (OverDrive Support account and password required).