hoopla Digital 12+

Hoopla and Covid

I have been using Hoopla ever since I knew about it and that has been quite a few years. Previously I borrowed books on CD’s. Hoopla is quite simply one of the joys of my life. I am an audio book junkie. I think that I probably have forgotten how to read. I have always been an avid reader. When I was little a neighbor girl ran our block and she had a school in her garage. There were little red chairs and we were required to attend . I learned to read when I was three and I started kindergarten when Zi was four. . When I was able to obtain a library card I checked out the maximum number of books which was four and read them and returned them to get more. Nice librarians would let me do that and the meanies wouldn’t! Much of my adult life I lived in Omaha NE and due to the bad weather they would mail books to one’s home. And have free returns. That was short lived though. I recall being stuck in snow drifts on my way to the library. One time when I was hopelessly stuck, and a huge SUV shot by me as if it were a racetrack. So, I bought an SUV. So, do I like Hoopla. Probably as much as anyone could. My earphones have become a natural appendage. I set my Phone for thirty minutes and go to bed. I doubt if I could get to sleep without them. I can always find my place with thirty minutes if I fall asleep. Now, with Covid, it is a godsend. No need to touch anything. And, with the library closed, it is the only access to books. Thank you Los Angeles Library System!

Must have!

I am OBSESSED. I am a public library director so the I have helped the library make this possible for our community. If your library doesn’t offer it, ask!
Unlike other providers of digital content, though also amazing in their own right, Hoopla offers ebooks, audio books, comics, tv, music, and movies. All items in their catalog are instantly available- no wait! How many check outs a month is set by your library as its free to the user and paid for by the library but its a great compliment to other digital platforms! The app’s interface is easy to use and they are constantly improving it. You can download ebooks and audio books to your device for the 21 day check out so you can listen even when you cannot stream. If the item “falls off” after your checkout (because 50 hour audio books are a thing), you can re-borrow and it picks back up where you left off! You don’t have to start over. There are even more benefits I haven’t mentioned!
And from the backend as a director, working with the staff at MidWest Tape is awesome; quick to answer questions & reach out for support. It’s easy to access your portal and check stats, make changes to checkout limits and controls, and review spending.
I can’t say enough nor can my patrons!! We love it! CHECK IT OUT!

Saves Me Lots of Moola!

This may be my first app review, but I wanted to tell you how thankful I am for Hoopla. There is plenty of content of interest and I’ve even seen some really recent books on here. I’ve stopped using Audible since discovering it (when someone mentioned it in a review of the Libby app, which I also use, but Libby can have long waits and has shorter borrow times). I do wish we could read the ebooks in Kindle form because that’s better for eyes than a typical tablet screen and my Kindle has much better battery life than my ipad. It’s great how we can highlight within the ebooks, but I don’t think there’s a way to save those highlights or add notes like on Kindle. As I don’t really like reading whole books on the iPad, I usually stick to audiobooks here, but am very grateful for them.

Occasionally, Hoopla doesn’t succeed in accurately syncing my place between devices (phone and iPad), so that’s something they might want to take a look at. I also appreciate that you can toggle in and out of Kids mode, but would prefer a password to enter back into adult mode, for when my kids use it on their own. It is tricky to constantly supervise all content kids select and I’m not comfortable with all the options in the Kids section either. Perhaps a parent could enter a password to approve each borrow before a child can borrow while in Kids mode.

Thank you for a great free app though. I’m happy to be a member of a library that participates with it.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for using hoopla! We understand you are frustrated with the monthly borrow limits. Although hoopla delivers the content, your library determines and implements borrow limits. You can contact them directly to ask about the policy. If you have other questions about hoopla, please email us at feedback@hoopladigital.com! We’d love to be worthy of five stars!