What's Hoopla?

Hoopla is a web and mobile streaming platform for audiobooks, comics, e-books, magazines, movies, music, and TV. You can use it on mobile devices, desktop computers, and there are even apps for Roku, Apple TV, and other "smart" TVs.

How is Hoopla different than Overdrive/Libby?

On Hoopla, everything is always available. There are no waitlists or holds. Hoopla is only available to residents of Superior and Douglas County.

With Libby, we share digital items with libraries throughout the state of Wisconsin (https://wplc.overdrive.com/), which is one reason why waiting lists tend to be really long for popular titles.

To alleviate this, we purchase "Advantage" titles which are only available for checkout by patrons in the Northern Waters Library Network. We also work closely with the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium to advocate for our patrons so they can get the items they need in a timely manner.

The purchasing models for Hoopa and Libby are very different.

• Hoopa uses a "pay-per-checkout" model, which means the library pays every time an item is checked out by a patron.
  • Hoopla's per-item costs vary depending on the type of item.
  • Hoopla content is not selected by our library staff.
  • Because of high demand and limited budgets, we have to restrict the number of checkouts per month.
• With Libby, we select each Advantage item and purchase a license that grants us permission to lend that title to our patrons.
  • The terms of those licenses vary, with some allowing access for a specific time period, or a certain number of checkouts. Some items can be checked out by multiple patrons at one time, and some cannot.
    • Once the license expires, the item is no longer available unless it is re-purchased by the library.
  • We do our best to select items for our Advantage collection with licensing terms that efficiently meet demand, reduce wait times, and provide the formats preferred by our patrons.

The bottom line: the cost-per-checkout for Hoopla items is much higher than for Libby items.

How can you be a good steward of our digital resources? Check Libby first!

How do I sign up for Hoopla?

Who has access through Superior Public Library?

Only Superior and Douglas County residents with library cards can use Hoopla.

How many items can I check out?

Each patron can check out THREE items per calendar month. Checkouts reset on the first of each month. Unused checkouts do not roll over to the following month.

What are the checkout periods?

• Ebooks/audiobooks: 21 days (3 weeks)
• TV/Movies: 72 hours (3 days)
• Music: 7 days (1 week)
• Magazines: 7 days (1 week)