Overdrive-Sora

Adding a Public Library (computer)

What is the purpose of this tutorial?

This tutorial will show students how to login to Overdrive/Sora through their school account and add Orange County Public Library to their IUSD Overdrive account when accessing Overdrive on a computer. Once added, users will be able to search either collection (IUSD or OC Public Library’s collection)  for Overdrive ebooks and audiobooks. 

Staff can use Sora to connect as well but note that this will limit you to the juvenile and young adult collection at OCPL. There is the Libby app for the public libraries but this does not connect with the IUSD ebook collection and is not intended for students.

Step 1: Sora App

Go to https://iusd.org/sora   Use your network ID (computer username) to log in. This is the username without the @iusd.org. 

Step 2: Irvine Unified

Once you are logged in to IUSD’s Overdrive collection, you will see the “Irvine Unified School District” in the top center. Click on the drop-down arrow.

Step 3: Public Library

In the menu that drops down, click the green button,  “Add a Public Library.”

Step 4: OC Public Libraries

Search for “OC Public Libraries” and click on the green “This is my Library”.  

(Note that when searching for your library, this is a national search and there are libraries with similar names.)

Step 5: Sign In

In the OC Public Library, you will see books from that library that you may want to read. When you click on  a book:

• Choose the option “Borrow” 

• You will then see the option to sign in with your school district. Select “Irvine Unified School District”.

• A pop-up window will appear prompting you to enter a library card number. Enter your IUSD login (without @iusd.org) and your password. Select “Sign In”

Step 6: Sora Profile

Once you have linked your school and public library accounts, you will see them both in your Sora profile (click on the three lines or hamburger symbol on the top right to see your profile. Now when you search for a title, you can search just the IUSD collection or you can include both libraries. The school library search results will be displayed first.

Step 7: Search

To use the search function, click on “Explore” at the bottom of the screen.

When you enter a search for a title, you will have the option to search the public library at the same time by clicking on the box “search all of my libraries.” The displayed results will show the IUSD results first.

This document was created for Irvine Unified School District by the Information Technology Department.

Author: EdTech Updated 5/11/2023

For technical assistance, please email helpdesk@iusd.org

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604