Readers go into OverDrive

By MAI YIA LEE

The Mirror reporter

Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) has a wide variety of books and resources in the library that students can check out. Although the collection at SPASH may be smaller than the public library, there are still many types of books, such as graphic novels for students who don’t like to read, down to autobiographies and history books, so there’s something for everyone.

The newly promoted online eBooks and audiobooks makes even easier for students to find something they’re interested in. A new option may be on OverDrive. “OverDrive is a digital library that has eBooks, audiobooks, movies, and more,” Beth Molski, SPASH Library Media Specialist said. “On SPASH OverDrive you can enjoy free eBooks and audiobooks on your computer, phone, or tablet. It’s easy to use and you can take it anywhere with you.”

“I go on OverDrive when I have nothing to do because it’s really easy to use,” Kaden Strebe, a SPASH junior said.

“OverDrive is good because it helps students who reading difficulties. Overdrive can define words when you tap on them and audiobooks are available too if students need a book to be read to them,” Molski said.

To get to the online books, go to the SPASH homepage and under Our School there is a tab for Library Media Center. Click on that to go to Follett Destiny and select SPASH under High Schools. Then, under OverDrive Media, click OverDrive Login.

“An account should already be made for students,” Molski said. Students use their network login for both the username and password.

To take eBooks and audiobooks everywhere, there’s an app that students can download from their phone or tablet. “The app is free to download,” Molski said. People just need to search for the OverDrive app on the device’s app store or from app.overdrive.com.

The app, eBooks, and audiobooks may be free for students to borrow but the schools have spent a lot of money to get the resources. “When all three schools, Ben Franklin, P. J. Jacobs, and SPASH first got OverDrive, we had to spend $10,000 of the book budget. Now we spend about $3,000 each year,” Molski said.

“This is not in addition to our budget, we are just allocating more money to digital books versus print books.”