Hoopla is one of the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library’s many digital resources available to use for free with your library card! While it is full of fun things to read, watch and listen to, did you also know that it is full of educational resources for the upcoming school year?
Our website, kckpl.org, walks you through setting up a Hoopla account on computers or mobile devices. Choose the eCommunity link at the top of our home page and scroll to Hoopla to get started in a browser. You can also download the Hoopla app from your mobile device’s app store.
Currently, each user receives 20 checkouts per calendar month. However, each Hoopla account is registered to a specific email address, so it is possible for everyone to have their own Hoopla account to make those 20 monthly checkouts go a long way!
For even more customization and security, there is a “Kids Mode” option available under settings that educators and caregivers can utilize for each Hoopla account for safe browsing and borrowing!
Searching in Hoopla works best when starting from what you know already. Author, title, and other search terms need to be fairly exact, including details like an author’s middle initial or the complete series name. Third-party sources of recommendations such as Goodreads.com or the library’s Read. Watch. Listen. page can help students gather ideas.
Hoopla’s advanced search option allows for searching by ISBN, which is useful if you found a resource through a bookseller. Another time-saving solution? Simply search the library’s catalog on kckpl.org or via our app. All media available for an author, title, etc., will be clearly identified in the search results and are easily filtered!
When you click on an item that looks interesting, Hoopla will suggest similar titles as well. Following those recommendations is the best way to utilize Hoopla’s search options. Choose a digital medium, like audiobooks, and explore the pre-selected categories based on your interests, such as History, STEM, and Poetry! Students can also follow the progressively specific suggestions in a title’s description to discover a particular field of interest.
Customization makes Hoopla a great tool for homeschooling families! Choose “favorite” materials by clicking on the heart button below the item’s picture. The favorites option keeps track of materials instead of just borrowing them outright, which might make the item harder to find after it has been returned.
As students move through studies, they can manually “return” an item, effectively marking that task as done. Looking at their borrowing history helps them review the direction of their studies, refer back to materials for research/citation, and gives the student an objective picture of their progress.
Sometimes we all need to see how far we’ve come!
Hoopla puts in a solid effort to serve the information needs of library patrons, and it shows! Parents and students can choose categories from which to receive email recommendations. Thoughtfully derived categories include “1000 Books Before Kindergarten,” awards across various media and subject areas promoting diverse understanding and inclusivity.
Hoopla provides a wide range of digital media, some of which overlap with other apps the library offers, and checkouts on one app do not affect the others. A pro- library user tip is to download the KCKPL app to keep all of our e-resources at your disposal! You can also manage all of the physical materials borrowed under your account and our system-wide calendar of events!
In addition to 20 checkouts from Hoopla, students may borrow 7 materials at a time from Axis 360 e-books and audiobooks with no monthly cap. Kanopy offers high art films, foreign language films, and documentaries with unlimited viewing of “The Great Courses.” It also has a mode for kids. Flipster provides magazines on current, social and cultural events.
Enjoy!
Miss Amanda – Main Library