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The K12 Back to School Guide

The beginning of the school year is right around the corner and we are excited to welcome the Library Media Specialists back! We also hope to ease the transition back to work with this handy guide. From how to handle outstanding subscriptions to information about other learning and collection opportunities, this guide should provide all the info our K12 members need to get back in the swing of the school year.

Pending Subscriptions

With the new school year starting, some schools still have pending subscription renewals from over the summer. To ensure that your full portfolio of resources is available to your students, please check MyWiLS to submit renewal decisions on any pending orders.

WSDLC in MyWiLS!

New in 2025, WSDLC Membership pricing is now in your MyWiLS account! Cooperative Purchasing participants can now approve their WSDLC renewals directly in MyWiLS. Contact wsdlc-info@wils.org with any questions. For questions regarding your Sora settings and technical support, please contact wsdlc@overdrive.com.

Staffing Changes

If your district had any school library staff changes, please let us know! We want to be sure that we’re communicating with the right people at your institutions. Email us at coop@wils.org with any changes you’d like to inform us of. We’ve put together a K12 Orientation Toolkit (in Word or PDF) with tons of helpful info about WiLS and other statewide resources available as a PDF or word document to help new and returning media specialists alike!

New Billing Options

We’ve made some upgrades to MyWiLS over the last few years, and you may not have seen some of the new options on the Institutional Information tab. While you can always approve a subscription and set it to not invoice without a PO, you can now indicate that your institution always requires a PO before being invoiced. You can also specify invoicing instructions, including to separate invoices by building or contact, put everything on one invoice, etc. New in 2025, you can also sign up for monthly statements directly in MyWiLS under the Institutional Information tab!

Taco Tuesdays

Taco Tuesdays are back in full swing! We have some great vendor demonstrations lined up to help you find that next invaluable resource for your institution. Register for any (or all!) of them. If you can’t make it, you can watch the whole recording or individual vendor demos on our YouTube channel.

Vendors and Products Page

WiLS has comprehensive and searchable lists of all of our vendor partners and their products on our site, and now in MyWiLS, too! You can search by name, subject area, resource type, and more. Whether you’ve got a specific product in mind or just want to see what’s available, check it out today! If you don’t find what you’re looking for, email us at coop@wils.org and we’ll look into it.

Discount and bid codes for our order direct vendors are now also in MyWiLS. Navigate to the Vendors tab to find ordering instructions for vendors like Demco, Mackin, Ingram, and more!

WiLS Partners: BadgerLink and CESA Purchasing

Did you know that BadgerLink and CESA Purchasing are WiLS partners?

BadgerLink provides access to magazines, journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, and reference materials on many K12 subject areas from resources such as Advanced Placement Source, Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers, Britannica Suite, Explora, NoveList/NoveList K-8, Literary Reference Center Plus, Newspapers.com, and TeachingBooks.

See the For Library Staff page for more information such as direct resource URLs for your website, resource guides, asynchronous training, and promotional materials. For additional consultation, technical assistance, and personalized training on best practices and effective use of the resources, please contact the BadgerLink staff.

CESA Purchasing provides discounts on library and educational products and resources to WiLS through a reciprocal agreement. Reach out to Partnerships Manager Meghan Cropp with any questions and visit the CESA Purchasing website and learn more about new and existing CESA Purchasing vendors (examples below) and request quotes.

  • Digital RED – technology recycling: no discount, but most services are free
  • Discount School Supply – toys, school furniture, curriculum guides, and traditional school supplies: 5% discount on all products + free shipping
  • The Discovery Source – Early Childhood: free book set for every $500 spent ($40 value)
  • Howard –  technology/hardware: 3-21% discount on products
  • Nutrislice – Keep school menus in sync with an integrated digital guest experience platform providing K12 districts: 5-20% discount on products/services
  • Rex K12 – turnkey computer science curriculum & platform: 12% discount on products/services
  • Vivacity – all-inclusive K8% discount on all subscriptions > 12 EdTech solutions provider: up to 15% discount on products
  • TeachTown – Leading provider of K12 standards-based, adapted core curriculum for students with moderate to severe disabilities: 8% discount on all subscriptions