VLC: St. Mary's Library Learning Commons: Sora Digital Books

Using Sora

Sora can be accessed via the WCDSB My Apps page on your device’s browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.).

Open your browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.)
Go to the WCDSB My Apps page and sign in with your WCDSB login information: https://myapplications.microsoft.com/
Click on the Sora logo:

My Apps Sora Icon Screenshot

To Browse

Click the Explore tab, then click Borrow when you find a book you want. Your book will open and you can start reading right away.

Access Your Bookshelf

Close the book and go to the Shelf icon to see all your books (including class-assigned books). From there, you can:

Open Book or Open Audiobook to read or listen to the book.
Access options to renew or return the book, get to your notes and highlights, and more.

Sora also offers an app that can be downloaded to a mobile device. Please note: Sora app user settings prevent books with young adult and adult reading levels from appearing. You can access young adult/adult books by using the Sora website in a browser.

Questions? Visit help.soraapp.com

Account Options

Home: Displays your assignments, loans, recently defined words, recent notes and highlights, book suggestions based on books you've previously read in Sora.

Explore: Browser curated collections and search by title, author, and keyword.

Last Read Window Bubble: Shows the cover image of the last book you've read; click here to resume.

Shelf: The place to find your loans, holds, lists, and your Sora activity.

Me: Lists your personal reading statistics, and achievements.

Sora Account Options

Compatible Devices

Visit the Devices information on Sora's website for products that are compatible with Sora by OverDrive.

Sora also has an app that can be downloaded to a mobile device. Please note: Sora app user settings prevent books with young adult and adult reading levels from appearing. You can access young adult/adult books by using the Sora website in a browser.

Making Notes and Highlights

In an eBook

Click (or tap) and hold a word, then select Highlight. To select more than one word, hold and drag.

After you highlight one or more words, you can add a note.

Account Options

Select to make a bookmark. To highlight a section, click (or tap) and hold .
After you make a bookmark or highlight, you can add a note.

Visit Sora's Marketing and Outreach website for handouts, printouts, posters and other materials to connect staff and students to Sora.

Help

Access help by going to https://help.soraapp.com/ or by clicking:

Talk to your location’s learning commons staff or contact Shelley Wood at The Learning Commons, CEC.

Training

Staff: want to improve your Sora skills? OverDrive offers great Staff training resources.

If you are a St. Mary's staff or student and there is a book you would like to read that you can't find in Sora, please contact Ms. Kenny, your St. Mary's Librarian, to suggest a purchase. Availability depends on the book (not all books are available as eBooks or eAudiobooks).

Educators may also request class sets of an eBook for their students. Please contact Ms. Kenny to inquire if this is possible (depends on cost and availability).

Add your public library
to get more out of Sora

Add your public library account to the Sora app so you can browse and borrow not just the WCDSB's eBooks and eAudiobooks but public library items as well.

Sign in to Sora via your WCDSB My Apps page and click on the Sora icon.
Click on the upper right menu and select Add library
Browse titles from the public library and borrow a book.
Add your public library card number when prompted (if your card is from Kitchener Public Library, Waterloo Public Library, Region of Waterloo, or Idea Exchange search for your library and choose downloadLibrary.
Checkouts from school and public library collections will appear on the same Shelf.

For more information, please visit the Sora website.

About St. Mary's Library Learning Commons

St. Mary's High School logo

Mary Jo Kenny

St. Mary's Librarian

Phone: 519.745.6892 ext. 5630 | Email

St. Mary's High School

500 Block Line Road, Kitchener, ON, N2C 2S2

St. Mary's Library Learning Commons is a joint-use space in partnership with Kitchener Public Library's Country Hills Community Library. A Kitchener Public Library Card is needed to:

borrow items and place holds
access KPL digital content such as eBooks/eAudiobooks, streaming music/videos, and access databases.

Visit the library service desk to sign up for a card (please bring your SMHS student card as proof of identity).

If you lose your card, replacement cards are free of charge.
Maximum of 100 items per card.
Maximum of 4 books on a single subject.
Access items from all 5 of KPL's locations.

Currently, all available items can be borrowed for 3 weeks, and can be renewed 2 times, as long as other customers have not placed holds on the items. See KPL's Loans and Fines page for more details.

All lost or damaged items are the responsibility of the cardholder. Please keep your card safe, and protect your account by not lending your card to others.

See KPL's Loans and Fines page for current policies.
Renew items online.

Our school library is a public space jointly shared by Kitchener Public Library's community customers. During the school day (9 AM - 2:55 PM) the library is considered part of the school and students are expected to abide by St. Mary's Code of Conduct and Policies & Procedures. Please use the library in a way that respects the needs of the Country Hills community, KPL staff, and your fellow St. Mary's staff and students. Your kindness and cooperation are appreciated.

Full uniform, even on spare.
Please use St. Mary's designated area.
- Seating: St. Mary's Learning Commons is the area with the blue chairs and black armchairs. Seating outside this area is reserved for KPL's community visitors during those times.
- Computers/printing: students can use the WCDSB computers in the St. Mary's Learning Commons area. Students with school-related work have priority for computer access.
Students access is available 1) during class visits supervised by their teacher, 2) at lunch, 3) during a spare period, and 4) after school.

Teachers can also contact Ms. Kenny to request permission for individual students to quickly visit the library without their teacher during class time if they need to print, pick up a book or get librarian assistance.
Please help keep the library tidy. Use the garbage/recycling bins, keep food/drinks away from computers/electronic equipment, and keep floors/furniture/other library surfaces tidy.

The library is accessible during Kitchener Public Library's opening hours:

Monday - Thursday: 9 AM - 9 PM
Friday & Saturday: 9 AM - 5:30 PM

The library closes 1/2 an hour earlier in June, July, and August.

The building where St. Mary's Library Learning Commons is located is jointly shared with the Kitchener Public Library's Country Hills Community Library. By getting a KPL card, you can access SMHS/Country Hills' collection, as well as request items from any of KPL's 4 other locations. There is something here for you!

Work and study space, including computers
Printers and photocopiers
Research resources - books, DVDs, online databases, eBooks and eAudiobooks
Help with your research
Entertaining books, magazines, DVDs, graphic novels, and more!

St. Mary's High School acknowledges that the land on which we live, teach, and learn today is the land traditionally used by the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People. We also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of the Indigenous People with whom we share this land today.