Audiobooks & eBooks

Overview

The SPS library program began initial implementation of ebooks during the spring of 2012. There are thousands of audiobooks and  ebooks available across the district.  

Audio Books

SORA

SORA hosts most of our audio books. Students can access books from Desitiny or directly from the SORA website or free app. See below for login details.

About the Books

Where do I go to look for books?

The best strategy for finding books is to sign in to your library account to search for books. Our library system consolidates books from all of the different sources listed below.

Where are the books from?

We have many different sources of books. 

• Follett — fiction and non-fiction ebooks and audiobooks are purchased from Follett, which provides most of the print books in our libraries. 

• Gale — non-fiction books that are excellent resources for research. Gale is a subscription service that is provided by the Oregon State Library.

• National Geographic Kids! eBooks — non-fiction books that are excellent resources for research. National Geographic Kids! is part of the Gale subscription service.

• OverDrive — fiction and non-fiction audiobooks are purchased from OverDrive. These books are displayed through Sora. Occasionally, you will find an ebook in Sora, but it is mainly a collection of audiobooks.

• Project Gutenberg — this site provides many, many free books and have included those books that are appropriate in our library system. Examples of these include books that are in the public domain such as Aesop's Fables.

How many copies of each book are available?

That depends. Some books can be accessed by an unlimited number of people at one time (Gale, National Geographic Kids!, Project Gutenberg) and others can be accessed based on the number of copies that have been purchased (Follett, OverDrive). 

Why should I check out a book when I can just use it by previewing it?

When you look at or listen to a book without checking it out, another user can check it out the moment that you close it. It will not be available to you until it has been returned.

Additional Titles

LibriVox offers free public domain audiobooks which were read aloud by volunteers.

Requesting Titles

Titles are added to support classroom instruction and diverse student populations. If you have students who cannot decode class novels who would benefit by being able to access an audio version of the text, please contact Karen Babcock, District Library Media Specialist/TOSA to find out if it's possible to add specific titles.

Talking Books for the Visually Impaired

Students who are visually impaired (and a few other qualifying reasons) qualify for the Talking Books and Braille Library program. Registered students can receive a player and check out or download audiobooks from the catalog of options. Contact Amy LeRoy, SPS Assistive Tech Specialist, or Karen Babcock, District Library Media Specialist/TOSA, for details about books for impaired students.