The Riverhead Free Library has added a new digital platform to its repertoire.
Hoopla, a library media streaming platform, is now available for Riverhead Free Library cardholders. The platform can be accessed through a web browser or through the Hoopla app on phones and tablets.
Hoopla allows library cardholders to borrow and download e-books, audio books, digital graphic novels and comics, television shows, movies and music albums.
“Originally what it was about was another way to stream movies that are free if you have your library card — so it’s not something like Netflix that you have to pay a charge for,” library Director Kerrie McMullen-Smith said.
“Other libraries in the county have been offering it and we really never had it in the budget to offer,” McMullen-Smith said. “And with so many people asking over the last couple years — I would say since the pandemic — to offer it, we added that into our budget for the ’23-’24 fiscal year. And so once we secured the funds, we were able to add that as a service to the community.”
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McMullen-Smith said Hoopla supplements the library’s existing offerings of digital content on other platforms like the e-book service Libby, the digital magazine service Flipster and Kanopy, another movie streaming service. She said Hoopla offers more “popular” movie content than Kanopy, which is focused primarily on independent films.
Hoopla also has a feature called “BingePass,” which gives you access to certain subscription-based websites. Services you can access through BingePass include the streaming service Hallmark Movies Now and the educational course website The Great Course.
The platform also has a “kids mode” that parents can turn on to allow the user to access only kid-friendly content.
“More and more of our material, it’s not physical material anymore — it’s more electronic and streaming and downloading,” McMullen-Smith said. “So we want to be able to offer as much as we can to the community.”
While McMullen-Smith said a lot of card-holders prefer to use the library’s online resources, the number of people coming into the Riverhead Free Library has been increasing since it reopened after the pandemic. She credits the library’s in-person events and programming.
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