Challenge #5: Browse Hoopla Categories

Our last challenge drills down a little further on Hoopla's content organization. Challenge-takers so far have noted that Hoopla is functionally geared toward browsing, more so than searching (though you can search and find particular titles).

One of the best ways to browse Hoopla is by exploring their Categories, which are many and varied! For example, here are all the categories available for Television:

So, your challenge for this week: pick a format and explore the categories. Find a category that appeals to you. Is it "The Great Courses?" "Just Added to Hoopla?" "British Favorites?"

Report in the comments:

Which category did you pick? Did the content in that category seem to fit? How accurate was their categorization?

Challenge #4: recommend Hoopla to a patron!

This challenge gets right to the heart of what we do at OPL. This week, we're challenging you to recommend Hoopla to a patron! This can be at the reference desk, more casually on the floor, or even on your own social media account.

Your humble challenge-preparer (it me) often works on the ref desk in the Main Library Children's Room, and now that Hoopla's live, I find myself recommending it all the time! Whenever a family checks out a pile of movies, I tell them about Hoopla and show them how to find it on our website. The other day, I had an email from an org that resettles refugees that mentioned lots of families staying temporarily in hotels while waiting for permanent housing, and asking for help entertaining their B-O-R-E-D BORED kids. In addition to recommending they visit our branches, get cards, and check out books and toys, I mentioned that they could use Hoopla to download kids' movies to their smartphones (most have them) and watch them in their hotel rooms, where there is no wifi.

And how about you?

Report in the comments:
Where, when and to whom did you recommend Hoopla? How did they respond?

Challenge #3: try Hoopla in KIDS MODE

Third Challenge: try Hoopla in KIDS MODE! 

So, of course, the public library does not filter content for children. We believe in free access to information for all people, regardless of age. We do not filter our internet for kids, and we let kids check out any book they darn well please. We believe it's a parent's job, not ours, to determine what's appropriate for their child and work with said child on finding books and media that are right for them.

With all that in mind, let's approach Hoopla's KIDS MODE setting as a tool for parents, not for library staff.

Pretend you're a busy parent and you want your third grader to pick a movie the whole family can watch during a long car trip. You want to make sure whatever she chooses will be appropriate for everyone, including your 2-year-old, who's been having nightmares lately. NO scary movies! Time to try using Hoopla in Kids Mode!

Sign into Hoopla, click settings, and set Kids Mode to "ON." Now go back to browsing content.

What differences do you see?

Are there times you would recommend Kids Mode, and times you would not?

Challenge #2: check something out and open it

Challenge Number Two: check out a thing

What looks fun to you on Hoopla? Have you found an ebook, comic, or audiobook you want to read? Do you want to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack for the 1,000,000,000,000,000th time? Are you tired of making excuses for not having seen "A Goofy Movie" yet? Go ahead-- you'll have aced this challenge when you get the thing you want.

One tip: before you take your device away from wifi, hit "play" or "read" on the items you've downloaded. You'll see a message that says "preparing for offline use." This only takes a second but must be done before the content is viewable.

Report in the comments:

Did you download or stream? What device did you use?

Challenge #1: Sign up and look around

1. Sign up for Hoopla. YES THAT'S REALLY IT! Okay, maybe take a look at the content too.

You can sign up for Hoopla on a computer using their website, hoopladigital.com, or through the app on your phone or tablet. It's available on the App Store for ios or Google Play for Android devices.

You can use your Hoopla account on as many different devices as you want, all at the same time. You might want to sign up and check things out on the website while you're on desk, then later add the app to your mobile device. 

In the comments, report:
Which devices are you using for Hoopla? Computer, ipad, kindle fire, phone, etc?

BONUS CHALLENGE! Take a Hoopla training webinar