What is Sora?
Sora is an award-winning digital reading app for students, by OverDrive.
Using Sora, students can discover a huge range of eBooks and eAudiobooks and more, for free.
About Sora in Tasmanian schools
In an Australian first, Libraries Tasmania has worked with the State Government to bring Sora into Tasmanian government schools.
These schools can now access a large collection of eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital magazines, comics, graphic novels and easy reads using Sora. Students then also have easy access to the Libraries Tasmania collection.
How does it work?
Students can borrow from the Sora collection using the app on their phone or tablet, or through a web browser on their laptop or PC.
Users set up their Sora (Education Tasmania) account using their school log-in and borrow books with just a tap. If they also add Libraries Tasmania they will have access to a much wider selection of age-relevant books from Libraries Tasmania’s OverDrive / Libby collection.
Students can have 5 loans and 5 holds on eBooks and eAudiobooks from Education Tasmania. These can be borrowed for up to 28 days. Students can borrow as many magazines as they like, with a maximum loan period of 21 days.
In addition, students can have 5 loans and 5 holds on eBooks and eAudiobooks from Libraries Tasmania, and they can borrow as many magazines as they like for up to 21 days. They can do this by choosing Libraries Tasmania in the ‘+add library’ drop-down menu on Sora.
Students are not responsible for returning their loans. Sora will automatically return items on the due date. Students can choose to return a loan early or renew a loan (if there are no holds on the item).
What types of items can students borrow?
The Sora collection includes a range of formats and titles to cater for students from Prep to Year 12.
Titles were chosen based on what is most popular in Libraries Tasmania’s print and electronic collections, and in Sora collections in Australian schools.
The collection aims to support recreational reading for students.
Students can only access age-appropriate content using Sora. They will only be able to see and borrow content that is mapped to their year level:
| Year Level | Sora – Education Tasmania | OverDrive – Public library |
| K-6 | Juvenile | Juvenile |
| 7-8 | Juvenile and Young Adult | Juvenile |
| 9-10 | Juvenile and Young Adult | Juvenile and Young Adult |
| 11-12 | Juvenile, Young Adult and Adult | Juvenile and Young Adult |
Getting started with Sora
Sora is accessible to students through their unique Department for Education Children and Young People login credentials. If connected to the DECYP network, login will happen automatically. If on another network, enter DECYP credentials when prompted.
To access Sora, follow these instructions: Sora by OverDrive in schools: Getting started (PDF 517KB).
When a student first sets up their Education Tasmania Sora account, they will be able to ‘+add library’ – Libraries Tasmania. This will enable them to search and borrow from Libraries Tasmania’s collections of children’s and young adult items, in addition to the Education Tasmania collection.
Do you need help accessing Sora?
You can learn how to use the app’s features and troubleshoot problems at Sora Help.
Didn’t find an answer on Sora Help? Contact the Sora Support team from within the app or via the website.
For Department for Education, Children and Young People staff only: Sora intranet page.