Wisconsin's Digital Library

In this installment of the "Did You Know?" series from WPLC, we want to spotlight some information that library staff might be able to use with patrons who have questions related to long wait times, especially in Wisconsin's Digital Library/Libby. 

“Why is the wait time so long for the book I want to read?”  

“Why are books #1-5 in this series available, but #6-10 are missing?” 

“Why can’t the library just buy ebooks from Amazon like I can?” 

With over 350,000 copies of digital audio, ebooks and magazines and 9 million checkouts in 2024, it’s no exaggeration that Wisconsin’s Digital Library gets its read on! Wisconsin’s Digital Library is unique relative to other national shared digital collections in that the selection process is decentralized and shared by Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) member librarians. 

Today, we’re turning the spotlight on Digital Library Shelf Talkers. You may have seen these short reviews/recommendations appear on various digital library title records. Shelf talkers are a great way to do some proactive readers’ advisory and help draw attention to titles that might fly under the radar or be checked out less often.

Note: you will need “Create/view Carts” or “Curate” permission in OverDrive’s Marketplace to make a shelf talker.