By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — Dearborn Public Library has launched an app that allows library card holders to access and stream more than 300,000 movies, music, comics and eBooks for free.
Hoopla Digital brings hundreds of thousands of movies, full music albums, audiobooks and more straight to smartphones, tablets, PCs and Apple TV.
“Hoopla Digital is affiliated with the company Midwest Tape, which we already do business with,” Dearborn Public Library Deputy Director Julie Schaefer said. “They brought the idea to our attention and we thought it was a great idea.”
A soft launch of the app began in May to teach the staff and work out any issues. The app formally launched earlier this month for all library card holders.
“We saw the app as something patrons would want and decided to bring it to Dearborn,” Schaefer said. “The city pays for the service and users get to access the app for free.”
There are 25 library systems in Michigan that use Hoopla.
The service features content from major Hollywood studios, publishers and record companies such as Walt Disney Pictures.
It also includes popular titles like “Air Bud,” “The Sword in the Stone,” “Pitch Perfect 2 Soundtrack,” “Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack,” Mumford & Sons ”Wilder One” and Kristen Wiig’s “Welcome to Me.”
Users can check out up to 10 movies, songs or albums, comics and eBooks each month. Each item has its own limit for how long it can be checked out to a user.
Patrons can renew an item as many times as they would like, but each renewal will count as a check out.
There will be no late fees because Hoopla has an automatic return feature that returns items when their checkout time has expired.
Library card holders can access the service online at hoopladigital.com or by downloading the app and signing up with their email, library card number and personal identification number.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)