Libby is the most popular library app, but it’s not the only one out there. Hoopla is another free service provided by your local library.
Unlike Libby, Hoopla doesn’t automatically give you access to all of its content. Instead, it gives you access to what your library specifically pays to provide. This could be books, television shows, movies, or music. My library card gives me books, but my mom’s only provides streaming options. (She’s not just in another county, she’s in another state.)
The process of joining Hoopla is pretty simple. You make an account with the information from your library card and you’re in! Hoopla doesn’t let you send the books to your Kindle. Instead, you read right in the app itself or on a browser on a computer. It still lets you flip around by chapter and highlight notes for later. It’s just not as fluid as Kindle is. I’ve noticed the highlighting function is a little twitchier in that you’ll probably end up with a word or two you didn’t mean to highlight, but it’s not the end of the world. Unfortunately, if you’re someone like me who tracks their book reading goals through the Kindle app, this will mess with your numbers.
Where Libby tends to have more popular books with traditional publishers, Hoopla has some smaller stuff. It’s where I found the first book of the Pack Darling duet, and then liked it enough to buy part two. Sometimes books disappear from the service, so if you really like something, purchasing it isn’t a bad idea.
Once you have a library card, there’s no reason not to go ahead and sign up for Hoopla. You never know what you might find on one and not the other. This is just another reason it’s a good idea to join your local library.
