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Newton County Library Teams Up with Ozark Mountain School District, Jasper School District and Deer-Mount Judea School District to Expand Access to Ebooks and Digital Audiobooks
Shared goal to provide digital materials in the community, especially during remote learning
Shared goal to provide digital materials in the community, especially during remote learning
JASPER, Ark. – January 14, 2021 – As educators seek more creative ways to support students’ learning, a key resource for schools is the local public library. Now, Newton County Library, Ozark Mountain School District, Jasper School District and Deer-Mount Judea School District have 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.
“We are so proud of and grateful for the Newton County Library's partnerships with our schools and districts,” said Kenya Windel, Director at Newton County Library. “As a service-minded organization, we hope this partnership acts as a supplement to their wonderful school libraries by putting more digital reading resources at students’ fingertips. This partnership is also an excellent example of the goals of the Arkansas Department of Education's Reading Initiative for Student Excellence (R.I.S.E) in action.”
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 Ozark Mountain School District, Jasper School District and Deer-Mount Judea School District, students can now borrow the school’s collection of classroom and pleasure reading, and also access Newton County Library’s juvenile and young adult digital collection. In addition, Sora supports teachers by offering education-specific tools like achievements, exportable notes, and reading progress that encourage individualized learning.
“We are thankful for the ebook access that Sora and the partnership with Newton County Library has given Ozark Mountain School District students and staff and look forward to using it during this unique school year,” said Monique Wilson, Library Media Specialist at Western Grove School.
Todd Parker, Director of Curriculum and Professional Development at Jasper School District, added, “Jasper School District is happy to join in partnership with the Newton County Library to offer a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other digital media to our students. We are excited for the opportunities and possibilities this new partnership offers to our students and our teachers!”
Melissa King, Federal Programs/Curriculum/Assessment coordinator at Deer-Mount Judea School District, agreed, “We hope this partnership acts as a supplement to our school and classroom libraries by providing more digital reading resources for our students. We love any opportunity to promote the importance of reading to our students and our community.”
The Sora app was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions 2019 and is available for Ozark Mountain School District, Jasper School District and Deer-Mount Judea 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 Newton County Library is a member of ArkansasLibrary2Go, the entire Newton County community can also borrow and read ArkansasLibrary2Go’s complete ebook and e-audiobook collection. With a valid library card from Newton County Library and the award-winning Libby app, patrons can enjoy thousands of ebooks and digital audiobooks 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) (US only).
Both reading apps are built by OverDrive and OverDrive Education. To learn more, visit https://meet.soraapp.com/ and https://meet.libbyapp.com/.
About Newton County Library
The Newton County Library is a small, rural public library located in Jasper, Arkansas. NCL's mission is to provide its diverse, rural population with materials for and access to information; services; and educational, recreational, and cultural experiences in an increasingly technology-driven world. NCL has a physical collection of more than 22,000 items, including a library of things, and as a member of the Arkansas Library 2 Go consortium, NCL provides access to a digital library of over 40,000 ebooks, digital audiobooks, and streaming video. Since 1994, NCL has operated at its current location at 230 South Stone Street, serving individuals and families who live, own property, work, or go to school in Newton County, as well as temporary residents, residents of adjacent counties, and visitors. Visit NCL at www.newtoncountylibrary.com or on Facebook and Instagram @newtoncountylibraryark.
About Ozark Mountain School District
At Ozark Mountain School District, we foster an environment where knowledge and excellence are valued, and individuals become productive citizens. Working through data analysis and instructional strategies, we will ensure that students become life-long learners that respect and accept the differences within themselves and others.
About Jasper School District
With 615 beautiful square miles – we’ve got the Ozark Mountains, the Kings, Mulberry and Buffalo Rivers and Boxley Valley, after all – we’re one of the largest land-area districts in Arkansas. In 2004, the Jasper School District welcomed the Kingston and Oark districts into our family. And while we became one district with one mission, we remain three distinct campuses located in three different counties – Johnson, Madison and Newton.
About Deer-Mount Judea School District
The Deer/Mt. Judea School District was created in 2004 when the two districts consolidated. Both campuses have been educating students in Newton County since the late 1800s. Our campuses are located in the Ozark Mountains so whether you are traveling to our Mt. Judea campus in the valley or the Deer campus on the mountain, you will see some beautiful Ozark Mountain scenery. Our district believes in educating our students in a student-focused learning environment that prepares students for college/career and life.
About OverDrive and OverDrive Education
OverDrive strives to create “a world enlightened by reading.” Serving a growing network of 65,000 libraries and schools in 84 countries, OverDrive – and its K-12 division, OverDrive Education – delivers the industry’s largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other content through award-winning apps. The Libby reading app for libraries is one of Popular Mechanics’ 20 Best Apps of the Decade, while the student reading app Sora is one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2019. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and was named a Certified B Corp in 2017. www.overdrive.com
“We are so proud of and grateful for the Newton County Library's partnerships with our schools and districts,” said Kenya Windel, Director at Newton County Library. “As a service-minded organization, we hope this partnership acts as a supplement to their wonderful school libraries by putting more digital reading resources at students’ fingertips. This partnership is also an excellent example of the goals of the Arkansas Department of Education's Reading Initiative for Student Excellence (R.I.S.E) in action.”
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 Ozark Mountain School District, Jasper School District and Deer-Mount Judea School District, students can now borrow the school’s collection of classroom and pleasure reading, and also access Newton County Library’s juvenile and young adult digital collection. In addition, Sora supports teachers by offering education-specific tools like achievements, exportable notes, and reading progress that encourage individualized learning.
“We are thankful for the ebook access that Sora and the partnership with Newton County Library has given Ozark Mountain School District students and staff and look forward to using it during this unique school year,” said Monique Wilson, Library Media Specialist at Western Grove School.
Todd Parker, Director of Curriculum and Professional Development at Jasper School District, added, “Jasper School District is happy to join in partnership with the Newton County Library to offer a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other digital media to our students. We are excited for the opportunities and possibilities this new partnership offers to our students and our teachers!”
Melissa King, Federal Programs/Curriculum/Assessment coordinator at Deer-Mount Judea School District, agreed, “We hope this partnership acts as a supplement to our school and classroom libraries by providing more digital reading resources for our students. We love any opportunity to promote the importance of reading to our students and our community.”
The Sora app was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions 2019 and is available for Ozark Mountain School District, Jasper School District and Deer-Mount Judea 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 Newton County Library is a member of ArkansasLibrary2Go, the entire Newton County community can also borrow and read ArkansasLibrary2Go’s complete ebook and e-audiobook collection. With a valid library card from Newton County Library and the award-winning Libby app, patrons can enjoy thousands of ebooks and digital audiobooks 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) (US only).
Both reading apps are built by OverDrive and OverDrive Education. To learn more, visit https://meet.soraapp.com/ and https://meet.libbyapp.com/.
About Newton County Library
The Newton County Library is a small, rural public library located in Jasper, Arkansas. NCL's mission is to provide its diverse, rural population with materials for and access to information; services; and educational, recreational, and cultural experiences in an increasingly technology-driven world. NCL has a physical collection of more than 22,000 items, including a library of things, and as a member of the Arkansas Library 2 Go consortium, NCL provides access to a digital library of over 40,000 ebooks, digital audiobooks, and streaming video. Since 1994, NCL has operated at its current location at 230 South Stone Street, serving individuals and families who live, own property, work, or go to school in Newton County, as well as temporary residents, residents of adjacent counties, and visitors. Visit NCL at www.newtoncountylibrary.com or on Facebook and Instagram @newtoncountylibraryark.
About Ozark Mountain School District
At Ozark Mountain School District, we foster an environment where knowledge and excellence are valued, and individuals become productive citizens. Working through data analysis and instructional strategies, we will ensure that students become life-long learners that respect and accept the differences within themselves and others.
About Jasper School District
With 615 beautiful square miles – we’ve got the Ozark Mountains, the Kings, Mulberry and Buffalo Rivers and Boxley Valley, after all – we’re one of the largest land-area districts in Arkansas. In 2004, the Jasper School District welcomed the Kingston and Oark districts into our family. And while we became one district with one mission, we remain three distinct campuses located in three different counties – Johnson, Madison and Newton.
About Deer-Mount Judea School District
The Deer/Mt. Judea School District was created in 2004 when the two districts consolidated. Both campuses have been educating students in Newton County since the late 1800s. Our campuses are located in the Ozark Mountains so whether you are traveling to our Mt. Judea campus in the valley or the Deer campus on the mountain, you will see some beautiful Ozark Mountain scenery. Our district believes in educating our students in a student-focused learning environment that prepares students for college/career and life.
About OverDrive and OverDrive Education
OverDrive strives to create “a world enlightened by reading.” Serving a growing network of 65,000 libraries and schools in 84 countries, OverDrive – and its K-12 division, OverDrive Education – delivers the industry’s largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other content through award-winning apps. The Libby reading app for libraries is one of Popular Mechanics’ 20 Best Apps of the Decade, while the student reading app Sora is one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2019. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and was named a Certified B Corp in 2017. www.overdrive.com
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