Sora Discovery on TeachingBooks
For any institution that has both TeachingBooks and Sora, the Sora Discovery feature provides single-click access from TeachingBooks to any digital titles in your Sora collections. Additionally, once activated, the Sora Wishlist feature allows your students and teachers to suggest new titles for your Sora collections.
Learn how it works
The Sora Discovery feature on TeachingBooks enables students and staff to seamlessly access the digital books in your Sora collections directly from TeachingBooks.
To use this integration, simply:
- Sign in to TeachingBooks and confirm you are logged in by seeing your district or school name in the main box on the home page.
- Browse or search TeachingBooks for any title in your Sora collection and look for a Sora icon.
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Click the blue Sora icon to Check Out in Sora. This opens the Book Readings section of the selected title with details about the digital book that your school has made available for you. Follow the link to directly to Sora where you will have the option to borrow the title or place a hold. 
Click the grey Sora icon that includes a plus mark to Request for Sora. This opens a Sora Wishlist request form that empowers your students and teachers to ask that a title be considered for addition into your Sora collections.*
Note: The Sora Wishlist feature is activated on an opt-in basis at the discretion of your Sora coordinator. (See below).
Add the Sora Wishlist
Coordinators of your Sora collections have the option to activate the Sora Wishlist feature that empowers your students, teachers, and staff to suggest specific digital books to be added to your Sora account.
When selecting the "Request for Sora" icon, one of the following forms will display:
Student version
Note: Students are always logged in anonymously.
Educator version
Once a month, Sora coordinators will receive a report (sample report) via email that identifies titles requested by students and teachers, as well as details to make it easy to build a cart in Marketplace.
Promote Sora Discovery for staff and students
Copy and paste the text below to easily share this new feature with your staff, students, and families!
We have a new way to discover titles in our Sora collection from TeachingBooks. The integration is simple: as you search or browse TeachingBooks when logged into our account, a blue Sora logo will appear with titles that are in our collections. Clicking the Sora logo will send you directly to that title in Sora where you can borrow or place a hold.
Learn more at TeachingBooks.net/SoraDiscovery
Email this message
And don't forget to share your TeachingBooks access!
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Sora titles are discoverable in TeachingBooks? How does this work with advantage accounts?
- What are the exceptions when the Sora Discovery feature will not work?
- How does this Sora Discovery feature interact with Sora Content Access Levels (CALs)?
- How will I know if a Sora book is available for checkout?
- Can the Sora Discovery feature display multiple different collections?
- Can I deactivate this feature for my institution?
What Sora titles are discoverable in TeachingBooks? How does this work with advantage accounts?
The Sora Discovery feature identifies titles that are purchased in your Sora collection or are part of a Shared Digital Collection. If, for example, you have a consortium account and then districts within that consortium have their own advantage accounts, titles from both of these collections will be discoverable to users when signed into one of the participating district's TeachingBooks account. However, if an advantage account is at the school level yet the users authenticate into TeachingBooks at the district level, TeachingBooks will not be able to offer discovery to the titles in the school's advantage account because TeachingBooks won't know what school you are a part of.
Additionally, this discovery tool only works for titles that match across the TeachingBooks and OverDrive catalogs.
If you have questions about optimizing your advantage account set up, please contact us via the Support details below.
What are the exceptions when the Sora Discovery feature will not work?
TeachingBooks will not display the Sora connection for titles that are:
- Available through OverDrive's Public Library Connect (PLC)
- Assigned in Sora to specific students or purchased as class sets
Additionally...
- TeachingBooks does not currently display collections at the school level within a district account.
If you have a specific setup need for your Sora Discovery, please reach out to us via the support details below.
How does this Sora Discovery feature interact with Sora Content Access Levels (CALs)?
TeachingBooks will display all titles owned in your Sora collection, but we do not override Content Access Levels (CALs) on Sora. Once on Sora, CALs will apply and limit what titles the user can actually checkout / place on hold.
Short answer: CALs limit access on Sora even if the title is displayed as on TeachingBooks.
How will I know if a Sora book is available for checkout?
TeachingBooks only displays a Sora icon if the title is owned in one of your Sora collections. You must follow the link to your Sora account in order to see if the title is available for immediate checkout.
Can the Sora Discovery feature display multiple different collections?
Yes. TeachingBooks can assign multiple collections for display using the Sora Discovery feature.
Can I deactivate this feature for my institution?
Yes. A Sora or TeachingBooks coordinator at your district level can submit a request to deactivate this connection for your users at: TeachingBooks.net/SoraDiscoveryOptOut
Sora & TeachingBooks Support
Contact Sora
Sora Help
Sora Resource Center
Contact TeachingBooks
TeachingBooks Technical Support
216-573-6886 x1779
hello@TeachingBooks.net
Or, visit our contact page.
