Hoopla (stylized as hoopla) is a web and mobile (Android/iOS) library media streaming platform launched in 2010 for audio books, comics, e-books, movies, music, and TV. Patrons of a library that supports Hoopla have access to its collection of digital media.
Hoopla is free-of-charge for patrons of participating libraries. The content is paid for by library systems, using a "per circulation transaction model".[3][4]
Content
Hoopla claims to have over 500,000 content titles across six formats,[3][5] including over 25,000 comic books.[6] As of November 2016,[needs update] Hoopla's content comprised 35% audiobooks (for which Hoopla has contracts with publishers such as Blackstone Audio,[7]HarperCollins,[8]Simon & Schuster Audio,[9]Tantor Audio,[10] and others), followed by 22% movies (for which Hoopla has motion picture contracts with publishers such as Disney,[11]Lionsgate,[12]Starz,[13]Warner Bros.,[14] and others), 19% music, 12% ebooks, 6% comics, and 6% television.[5] One drawback is that Hoopla has few new bestsellers.[6]
In February 2025, 404 Media reported that Hoopla's collection includes books created by generative AI with fictional authors and dubious quality. Often not labeled as AI-produced or fact-checked, this AI slop can cost libraries money when checked out by unsuspecting patrons.[15]
Hoopla content can be borrowed and consumed on the web, or via the native Android or iOS apps.[18] Hoopla broadcasts only in Standard definition unlike most of its competitors such as Kanopy.[citation needed]
Parent company
John Eldred and Jeff Jankowski founded Hoopla's parent company, Midwest Tape, in 1989. Midwest Tape is a library vendor of physical media such as audiobooks, CDs, and DVD/Blu-ray.[19]
Controversy
Hoopla and Midwest Tapes were censured by the Library Freedom Project and Library Futures in a joint statement for hosting what it described as "fascist propaganda", including a recent English translation of A New Nobility of Blood and Soil by Richard Walther Darré of the SS and books related to Holocaust denial, in public library collections without the input from the staff. Criticism was also directed at the inclusion of books on homosexuality, abortion, and vaccines claimed by the Library Freedom Project and Library Futures to be misinformation. On February 17, 2022, Hoopla removed a number of titles after public outcry about Holocaust denial books available on the app under non-fiction.[20][21][22][23] The advocacy groups expressed appreciation for the response, however state that it is "insufficient," as they maintain concerns about the company's practices in selecting materials and lack of transparency.[15]
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