Kentucky Serendipity

If You Have a Library Card, Then You Have hoopla 1 August 2020

One of the few good things about the pandemic is that it has given us time to catch up on books and movies. In addition to paid video streaming services, there are many free ones which permit us to watch TV shows and movies without payment (but with ads). But what about books? Where does one get free books with libraries closed or inaccessible? That’s where hoopla comes in.

hoopla offers ebooks, videos, music, and audiobooks as streams and downloads. An account is free to anyone with a library card from a member library, which is most public and academic libraries. Setting up an account is quick and easy: Go to the hoopla site; select the library which issued your card; enter your email address and library card number; and — that’s it. You now have access to thousands of materials. The site has items sorted into categories for browsing and of course, there’s a search function.

hoopla has an app which is available for Android, iOS, and even Amazon Fire devices. You can use the app or the web site to select and view materials. If you use the app you can also download materials for viewing or listening when you’re not connected to WiFi. I tested by the web interface and the app.

The web interface is exactly what one would expect. You select an item and it’s available in the web browser. The app provides greater functionality. hoopla items can be viewed on a TV using Roku or Chromecast. When I installed the hoopla app on my tablet it recognized that I have Chromecast (through Google Home) on the tablet and asked whether I wanted to connect the app to Chromecast. I did and hoopla set up the connection immediately. When I check out a video I can tap the screen on my tablet to cast the video to my TV (as one does with other apps which can cast). Setting up the Roku device is a bit more work but not complicated. I searched for hoopla using Roku and selected the channel. I then clicked to add hoopla to my channel list. I clicked to go to the hoopla channel. I then went to the hoopla app on my tablet and under settings selected the option to set up my home device. hoopla provided a four character code on my TV screen which I entered into the hoopla app. The two were then connected. (This is the same procedure used to access many other channels through Roku.)

hoopla setup is quick and use is easy but as is the case with many other things (especially free things), terms and conditions apply. First, there is a limit on how many items one can borrow in a month. This limit is set by your local library. In my case it is five items — not five of each type but five total. So if you want to binge a TV series, forget it! On the other hand, five books is an acceptable number for a month. Second, items are checked out for a specific period. In most cases videos are loaned for 72 hours and books for 21 days. The time limits are reasonable in my opinion. Third, not all items on hoopla are immediately available. Some items are “flex borrows” which means that only one copy is available for use. If someone else has it checked out then you have to wait. (hoopla does provide a waiting list.) This is the same as what happens in a physical library but it isn’t what one expects from a streaming service.

I dislike the per month borrowing limit. I understand the need for a limit but why can’t it be a limit on the total number of items borrowed at any specific time? This is the policy at all the physical libraries I’ve used — I’m limited to five items out at any one time but when I return a item I can immediately get another. But with hoopla it’s five in a month. Since this policy is set by my local library it can’t be considered as a criticism of hoopla per se.

My only criticism of hoopla is the help section. It is very difficult to find information on things such as the item limit and borrowing length. When one does find the information it isn’t in the place one would expect. All things considered, I recommend hoopla, especially for book borrowers. It’s a terrific way to get books without cost and without leaving your home.