The start of the new school year marks the beginning of students’ climb up the mountain of homework. Nobody gets to stay on top of that for long. This results in lower to no time for reading. However, librarian Amanda Trussell has a solution. The library offers free ebooks and  audiobooks to students, faculty and staff.

“Our digital collection is available 24/7 and all you need to get started is an internet connection and your district login credentials.” Trussell said. “Digital books are compatible with smartphones, tablets, eReaders and computers.” 

Don’t have time to read? Listen to the audiobook. Don’t want to carry around a physical book? Read the ebook.

“Titles can be read right in the internet browser or downloaded using the free Sora app.” Trussell said. 

Using the app, students can filter in their preferences and browse the catalogue, listening to samples and saving the books to lists of their choosing, before checking it out. Sora works like a real library, so a student will ‘borrow’ the book and have until a certain date to return it.

“At the end of the lending period, titles automatically expire so there are never any late fees.” Trussell said. 

If a book is already checked out by another student, they can add it to a list and wait for it to become available or they can put the book on hold. Sora can also be connected with the student’s public library catalogue.

Sora has a collection of badges students can earn while reading. The app records the ‘total books opened’, ‘total time read’, ‘average time per book’, ‘average time per session’, ‘current streak’, and ‘longest streak’, so that students can track their reading. 

“Please contact me with questions and with any suggested titles you’d like to see added to the collection.” Trussell said.

When reading ebooks, students can add bookmarks, notes, highlights, define words, adjust the font type and size, and more. When listening to audiobooks, students can set a sleep timer, adjust the playback speed, add bookmarks, notes, highlights, and jump back or forward in time so they don’t miss a word. 

Sora is the student’s solution to getting books read in busy times. 

“Check it out at: https://soraapp.com/welcome or by downloading Sora, the student reading app.” Trussell said.