Hoopla Service Ending

access will end on september 30, 2025

By LexCoLibrary
August 29, 2025
accessibility, audiobooks, comics, downloads, ebooks, graphic novels, hoopla discontinued, libby, magazines, movies, music, talking book services, tv shows

After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue Hoopla after September 30, 2025.

Why is the Library Discontinuing Hoopla?

We continually assess our collections to ensure we’re providing the highest-quality materials for the best value for our patrons.

The library pays every time an item is checked out on Hoopla. As patron usage grows, so does our total spending. Hoopla’s business model is unsustainable and costly for rapidly growing public libraries like ours.

We experimented with different limits but could never reduce the total spending as much as needed. Unfortunately, libraries throughout the country are facing similar problems. Skyrocketing Hoopla costs have not kept pace with library budgets, which can’t be expected to grow at the same rate. 

We care about the quality of materials we offer to our patrons. Hoopla lacks controls to filter materials that don’t meet our library’s collection development policy, such as the extremely low-quality AI-generated content rapidly increasing in quantity in their catalog.

To Help Put Costs in Perspective:

Hoopla checkouts represent only 5% of our checkouts for the entire library system, but would consume 30% of next year’s total print and digital materials budget to accommodate the growth in use (at the very low level of three monthly checkouts per user).
Over the past year, our other downloadable service (Libby) received four times as many checkouts as Hoopla, although the same amount of money was spent on each service.
Only 4% of our active cardholders use Hoopla in any given month.

What Do I Need to Do Next?

If you use Hoopla and want to keep your history, log in to the app, select “My Hoopla,” select “History,” and either screenshot or write down your previously borrowed titles. Due to privacy laws, we can’t access your borrowing history.

Where Can I Download Books, Audiobooks, Comics & Magazines?

Try the Libby app. We’re expanding this collection with even more books, audiobooks, comics and magazines. It’s free with your library card and simple to use.

Libby Downloads

Libby Help

Digital Downloads

Need assistance with learning Libby? Our friendly staff is here to help you:

Drop by one of our 10 locations
Schedule a one-on-one tech appointment via Book a Librarian
Email, call or chat with us via Ask a Librarian

In addition, Talking Book Services is a free resource from the South Carolina State Library for anyone with a visual, physical or print disability that prevents them from holding or reading normal print books.

Libby Doesn’t Have my Book, & if They Do, There’s a Waitlist.

We’re adding a lot of new books and more copies of popular titles to reduce wait times.

There’s a Book I’d Like to Borrow in Libby, but the Library Hasn’t Purchased It Yet.

Use “Notify Me” to tell us what you’re interested in. We monitor and purchase from these lists as we are able.

What About Music, TV & Movies?

We don’t have another app that offers these right now. We understand this is disappointing, especially for those who used Hoopla for music, movies and television, but we are looking into other options. We do still have a variety of DVDs available across all of our locations. We may be able to borrow or purchase a physical copy of your title, depending on availability.

Does LCPL Have Any Other Digital Content Besides Libby?

We have many offerings on our Online Resources page. Some highlights:

EBSCO Ebook Collection — Collection of over 6,000 ebooks on various subjects.
LinkedIn Learning — Learn something new through LinkedIn Learning’s 16,000+ web-based courses, covering business, technical, software and creative topics. Content is available in 7 languages.
NewsBank — Flip through a wide variety of U.S. news sources, including The State and other South Carolina newspapers.
The State Newspaper — Read The State newspaper; 2018 through the current date is online.
TeenBookCloud — Includes ebooks, read-along chapter books, graphic novels, videos and audiobooks for a teen audience.
Tumblebooks — Contains over 1,400 read-aloud storybooks, chapter books, graphic novels, songs and National Geographic videos. Books are available in English, Spanish and French.

What if I Can’t Get to the Library?

If you have limited mobility, impaired vision or any other type of disability (temporary or permanent), Materials by Mail can help. We offer a free service that delivers library resources straight to your mailbox.