We recently made changes to our Hoopla offerings in order to make this popular service sustainable within the confines of the library’s budget. To balance our collections expenses across the many formats we offer, we are testing controls on Hoopla borrowing. Hoopla only offers two ways to control costs: limit the number of items a patron can check out each month, or limit the maximum price of items available to patrons. This quarter, we chose the latter, and have reduced materials available to patrons by item cost. That is why you may have noticed a change in the titles available from Hoopla.
To fully understand the reason for this change, it’s important to know how Hoopla works. Libraries that offer Hoopla agree to pay a fee for each item a patron checks out. Prices vary among items, but generally, an ebook checkout through hoopla costs the library about $3. A movie or music checkout costs about $2.00 and an eAudiobook costs as much as $4.50. eAudiobooks tend to be the most popular with patrons as well as the most expensive category and those costs can rise quickly.
Unlike physical materials (books, DVDs, Playaways, CDs) which have a one-time cost and become part of the library’s permanent collection, Hoopla charges a per use fee, and the library does not own the items or control the material.
Over the past year, 10% of Farmington Libraries patrons have checked out at least one item from Hoopla, and new patrons are also making great use of the service. The increasing popularity of Hoopla has been driving up the library’s cost for Hoopla since we began offering the service in 2018. In 2023, the library’s cost for Hoopla increased 21% over the prior year.
We strive to make books, movies and music available to our patrons in multiple formats. In addition to Hoopla, you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks via Libby, and can access popular movies through our Kanopy subscription. And as always, we have a large collection of print books, physical audiobooks, and DVDs.
We will keep you posted as we monitor our Hoopla expenses. Please reach out to our reference desk if you need help finding alternative sources for your digital library needs by emailing flref@farmingtonlibraries.org or calling 860-673-6791.