Reply to Public library hold lists & Hoopla for audiobooks

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wish Hoopla had the sample feature like Libby so I can decide if it’s something I really want to read of listen to before borrowing it.

I was surprised when Hoopla for Montgomery County libraries recently cut the number of monthly borrows in half. I didn’t realize the library was paying for each time something was borrowed. I thought maybe the library systems paid a flat monthly fee since it everything they have is immediately available. [/quote]

Librarian here again. Copying e-books is essentially free and instantaneous, so publishers have created assorted strategies for making money.

OverDrive (the company that provides Libby) is mainly a flat fee, with a one-user-per-copy limit - basically treating e-books like print.  That’s why you have to put things on hold and wait for copies. There are also some other limits, like books that need to be repurchased after a certain amount of time or certain number of checkouts, but mostly it’s easy for libraries to set an annual budget for OverDrive.

Hoopla charges per checkout. Each item can be simultaneously checked out by many users, so you don’t have to wait. To make it predictable for budgeting purposes, libraries can restrict some combination of monthly use per person and total expenditure per month. Libraries that do the latter can blow through their budget on the first day of the month, which is obviously not great for patrons.

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How much is the charge to the library per checkout?[/quote]

Depends on the item[/quote]

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