Hoopla is a digital platform providing access to ebooks, audiobooks, music, television shows and movies that can be accessed on the site or downloaded to a phone or tablet. Hoopla has an extensive collection of both fiction and nonfiction titles.
Titles and materials are based on your home library so different titles may be available depending on which library card you use on the platform. There may also be different wait times and borrowing lengths for materials specific to your home library.
Hoopla is available to most people with a public library card, depending on if their library offers the service. The Chapel Hill Public Library does offer Hoopla to all library card holders. If you do not already have a library card all Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County residents can receive one for free by providing a proof of address to the Chapel Hill Public Library—regardless of how long you have been a resident! For information on receiving a Chapel Hill Public Library (CHPL) card visit this page.
Users can access the platform for ebooks in two ways:
Once you are logged into the Hoopla app your information will be saved and you will not need to log in each time to use the service.
Hoopla provides many ways to search for and identify ebooks. The search bar at the top of the page populates with potential authors, titles, and series as you type. Select an option or run your keyword search.
The drop-down menu inside the search bar allows you to filter by content type. Also, using the “Browse” tab redirects you to a page specifically for the content type you have selected.
The homepage also features rotating special collections, like new titles, banned books, popular ebooks, and “Recommend For You” with personalized selections.
In order for users to read ebooks available on Hoopla, they must borrow the book. When viewing a title, click on the box for "Borrow" if the title is available. It will be checked out to your account for 21 days by default. If the title is not currently available for checkout, the user may see a “Hold” box instead of the “Borrow”, this will place a hold on the title and place the user on a wait list for the title. Hoopla will notify the user via email—or push notification—when the title becomes available for the user to checkout.
Navigate to your “My Hoopla” by clicking the tab to the left of the search bar. Under the “My Hoopla” tab you can access pages to view “Currently Borrowed” titles. You can also view titles on hold, past titles checked out, and favorites.
Users may read ebooks checked out under their account through various methods. Hoopla is compatible with some Amazon Kindles, namely the Fire tablet, among other e-readers. Alternatively, there are options to read the ebook directly in a web browser or on a mobile phone with the Hoopla app.
eBooks will be automatically returned at the end of the checkout period. However, you may return an ebook early so that is available for others to checkout by clicking the "Return" button for the title on your loans page.
Navigate to the Patron Support - FAQs page to review instructions for getting started with the Hoopla, how to navigate ebook borrowing, and how to use the app. There are also tips for troubleshooting common problems and FAQs
