A card with value

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

It is the time of year that people look at the value of their credit cards, but Jeff Jankowski, founder of www.hoopladigital.com suggests that people look at the value offered by their library card.
Jankowski negotiates rights with media providers and content holders so that libraries and their patrons can choose and use from over 200,000 different titles, which includes 100,000 music titles, 18,000 movies and shows and over 14,000 audio books. Jankowski said new content is added every week.
“We don’t offer everything the library owns in the physical world, but we offer them a lot of what they don’t own in the physical world and make them available to the community, without charge unless they borrow them,” said Jankowski.
“We are passionate about library systems. Libraries give people their voice… they empower them, keep them entertained, informed. The bar is set so high by top leading consumer companies in the country and libraries now have a tool that allows them to compete and offer communities value in a way they didn’t have before. With Hoopla they are available all the time, without waiting lists, without late fees, digitally…it empowers the library to reach new users and be more relevant in their communities. It is our job to deliver that technology and titles and to listen to our customers and work together to make something great.”
Jankowski said that Hoopla accesses 70 per cent of what iTunes does on a daily basis. They have just negotiated partnerships with CBC for viewing rights on Republic of Doyle and Heartland, just to name a couple of the TV programs offered on the site.
“Consumers want to read, or read without owning. Digital technology allows anyone to do that anywhere, anytime. The technology is empowering the user, which is what libraries are all about. Helping individual’s access materials that betters their lives,” said Jankowski.
The Hoopla registration process is fairly simple. The patron can go to www.hoopladigital.com and register or they can download the app on their android or Apple device. It will ask you to select your library and then you enter your number; it asks for your e-mail address and for you to create a password, and then present you with the library that’s best for your choices. Once you register one device, it will play on your other devices as well. If you have problems, your local librarian can help.
With the Marigold Library System, you are allowed to borrow five choices from Hoopla per month. Laura Taylor, Assistant Director at Marigold, said the library kept the number on the lower side until they evaluate how many patrons use it.
Marigold Library System accessed Hoopla last June. Taylor said patrons are borrowing about 2.9 items each per month and a total of 5,000 items have been accessed through the Marigold site. She said the site can be used anywhere there is wi-fi. The movies and music stay available for three days and then your choice is deleted from your system automatically. For audiobooks, the duration is 21 days. Taylor suggests parents monitor any of the library resources accessed by their children. The Hoopla items are labelled for parental control.
Marigold Library System has several free digital services. There is Freegal, where members can download free music and keep it on their playlists. They also have acquired a new digital magazine site called Zineo and at the cost of print versions, this is quite a bargain. Taylor said there is a new Solero Gr 3-12 tutoring system that will soon be available.
Marigold Library System has also formed partnerships with other Alberta libraries so members can borrow and return library items where it is convenient. Members have to fill in a form on meLibraries.ca and indicate the libraries they would like to use. It is only available to members 18 years of age and older.
When asked if libraries in the future will all be digital, Taylor said she thinks there will always be a need for print materials. She said there is a decline in the amount of materials that are being produced. She gave the example of mass market paperback books. Over a four year period, the amount available has declined 50 per cent. She said there are predictions that music cd’s will no longer be available in one to two years and DVD’s won’t be around within eight.
“I think there will definitely always be a need for a library. There is a trend for libraries to reduce their collection size because they are making space for more collaborative and open things that occur in libraries,” said Taylor. “There is a lot of innovative ways of providing library services and discovering what is available on a variety of formats. I can definitely see a trend moving toward more online digital resources. We are always watching and seeing what is out there and whether it is useful and beneficial for Marigold…It is quite exciting to be in this field right now. Some people think there is no need for libraries, but there is now a need more than ever, with all the things that are available. Libraries are there to be of assistance and make them (digital resources) available.”