Hoopla Digital App Will Bring More Titles to Cardholders
Starting May 1, patrons of the Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library will have even more options for accessing titles on their Android or IOS mobile devices.
Hoopla Digital is a library app and website that brings TV streaming, eBooks, music and audiobooks to devices without any waiting list. Cardholders can use the service for free, up to five titles per month per patron.
“Our patrons will have easy access to a huge collection of materials without having to wait, and without any overdue fines,” said Kathy Baker, Assistant Director.
The service is another step into keeping up with consumer habits and technology.
“We’ve been concerned about libraries, especially our library, missing the opportunity to provide streaming content for our patrons. The idea of not providing patron access through what is becoming a standard method of access is short-sighted,” said library Director Lori Belongia. “We hoped to see and advocate for this be a statewide collaborative effort, perhaps through WPLC, but that doesn’t seem to hold promise for the near future. After investigating several vendors, we decided to take 10% of our audio-visual materials budgets plus some additional budget funding and see where this service takes us.”
Hoopla has an easy sign-up with email address, password, and library card number. Automatic returns eliminate any late fees. All downloads will be available on a patron’s other devices.
Content can be downloaded to view later for situations, like camping, where Wi-Fi won’t be available. Video lends for 72 hours, ebooks and audiobooks lend for 21 days, and music lends for 7 days. Visit HooplaDigital.com for more info.
Hoopla deliberately doesn’t carry the latest releases, said Baker. Instead, the library will continue to purchase hard copies of new, in-demand titles, while Hoopla offers titles that came out several months to a year ago or more. “That means our patrons will be able to access titles that perhaps we couldn’t afford to buy, or didn’t get because there wasn’t enough demand,” she said.
The library will experiment with the service and has limited borrowing to five per month to stretch out the budget.
