Board discusses Libby, parental filters and connecting Sora to public library accounts
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Summary
The North Logan board discussed patron questions about Libby filtering and parental controls and explored connecting the school-focused Sora platform to the public library as a possible workaround. Staff will test integrations and offer parental-assistance options.
Board members reviewed statewide trends in Libby (the OverDrive reading app) and responded to patron concerns about filtering and juvenile-only views. Staff described the available but cumbersome filtering options in Libby and advised that filtering is primarily a parental control and that library staff can show parents how to set filters on individual devices.
Board members discussed Sora, the school-focused OverDrive app used by some Cache County and Logan school districts, as a possible alternative for parents who want school-vetted collections. Staff said Sora can be connected to a student's school account and, in some configurations, the public library, but that Sora's selection and device behavior differ from the public Libby collection. The board asked staff to test whether Sora can be linked to the library's public holdings in their local configuration and suggested that staff enlist parents to trial the connection.
Board members also expressed concern that state-level legislative activity could affect how the Utah State Library handles filtering and content policies; staff said the state library included a notice on its site warning that it cannot fully control every user's access and that parental involvement will remain necessary.
Ending: Staff will experiment with Sora connections and prepare guidance staff can offer parents about device- or account-level controls. No formal policy change was adopted at the meeting.