WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS TUTORIAL?

This tutorial will show students how to login to Overdrive/Sora through their school account and add Irvine Public Library to their IUSD Sora account when on a computer. Once added, users will also be able to search Irvine Public Library's collection for Sora ebooks and audiobooks. 

Staff can use Sora to connect as well but note that this is not full access to the adult collection at Irvine Public Library. 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. 

Once logged in, the tabs are at the bottom of the Home Page:

Step 2: Public Library

To link your IUSD Sora account to Irvine Public Library, in the "Explore" tab, click the dropdown button next to Irvine Unified School District and select +Add library

Step 3: Find Irvine Public Library

Search for “Irvine Public Library” and click on the Name that appears below  

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

Step 5: Confirmation 

Look for the Irvine Public Library logo to confirm that you have successfully added IPL to your school Sora account. 

Step 6: Sign In to Link your School Account 

In the Irvine 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 be prompted to log in. Select the listing for "Irvine Unified School District".

• Enter your School District login (as in Step 1). This login is a one-time link. Once you have linked IPL to your school account, you will be able to borrow or place a hold from IPL without an additional login. The book you selected will either be added to your shelf and open in Sora, or added to your Holds list, depending on the status of the title. 

Step 7: 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 8: 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.

If you have any questions, submit a new ticket or email us at helpdesk@iusd.org. 

Updated 7/1/26 CK