7-11-2025

The East Troy Lions Public Library will be discontinuing access to Hoopla on December 30, 2025.

We began offering Hoopla in 2022 in response to the increased demand for digital content during the COVID 19 shutdown. Unfortunately, budget cycles make such changes occur at the speed of a tortoise not in a race. It goes like this. A pandemic closes down most countries and their public spaces. Both public and private businesses and service focused organizations, working largely in a bubble, brainstorm ways to continue while keeping every safe. For libraries that included identifying contactless access to materials.

All public libraries in Wisconsin are part of a library system. This allows us to share resources and receive better pricing for various subscription services; however, the budget process begins in February. It is approved by library directors in June/July. The library director then takes the system fee and incorporates into the library budget which is approved by the library board in July and passed onto the municipality in time for their budgeting process which is approved in October/November.

This is how a service we needed in 2020 became available in 2022.

All public libraries in Wisconsin were already providing access to electronic copies of books and audiobooks through OverDrive (now using the Libby App). Hoopla added video and music with a much different and unsustainable pricing model. With OverDrive’s Libby content, publishers agree to a variety of different pricing models from paying for a copy available forever, to paying for a copy available for a set number of checkouts, to a copy available for a set number of months, etc. Emphasis on a copy which is checked out to a single user. Hoopla charges the library for every single checkout which allows immediate checkout of any book in their offerings.

The first month we offered Hoopla, our bill was $25.47. Seven months later it was $131.46. In 2024 we reached $261.60 and placed a monthly limit of $200 which Hoopla spreads out over the month. Regaining control of our budget worked well from our end, but created frustration for patrons who try to checkout material after that day’s budget has been spent.

This year’s February budget talks focused on digital content spending in a controlled fashion. It was decided PLLS monies provided to libraries to supplement their Hoopla budget will be redirected to Libby/OverDrive content. This will help reduce the wait time for holds, which became a big concern following the COVID shutdown. Each library also contributes to the Libby/OverDrive buying pool. That amount will gradually increase over the next five year.

Included in these changes, PLLS library directors voted to create a systemwide Lucky Day, Skip the Line collection. PLLS licenses additional copies of books with significant wait times for holds. Moving forward, for every five licenses the system purchases, one will not allow holds. Instead, it will be available to the first person who notices it has been returned. Look for the shamrock and see which popular titles are ready today.

Reading Now: Follow the River by James Alexander Thom (Didn’t finish it for book club, which was okay as I had a meeting during the discussion. It’s worth finishing.)

Listening to Now: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (Loving it. Well worth 52 hours)