A big Hoopla at the West Hempstead library

Free access to 600,000 titles is a click away

Posted

The 11,000+ patrons of the West Hempstead Public Library have yet another reason to be a huge fan of its services. As of last week, hamlet library card holders can now access over 600,000 books, movies, music selections and more through a new, free library service called Hoopla.

In addition to the huge variety of material, one of the best things about the service, Library Director Regina Mascia says, is that unlike many digital media services at other libraries, hundreds of people can read the same book at the same time. Mascia said the library’s OverDrive service only allowed five copies of each item to be lent out simultaneously.

“We want people in the community to take advantage of it,” said Mascia, who added that the library has budgeted $8,000 for the service. “ If people want to have a librarian help them download the app, it’s not a problem. We want to get the service out there.”

Through the app or the Hoopla website, library patrons can borrow up to eight items per month. Video content is available for three days, music albums for seven days and all publishing content is lent out for 21 days.

“After the return period is over, the items gets automatically returned to the library – so no late returns,” said Michael Manon, PR & Communications Manager for hoopla digital. “You can also re-borrow the content, ‘favorite’ it and immediately borrow it again or borrow it later on.”

West Hempstead is the 45th library in New York State to partner with Hoopla, he said.