Featured Libraries Returns with Arlington Public Library, Lambton County and More!

July 17, 2015

After a brief hiatus, our Featured Libraries post has returned! Summer reading programs are in full swing at our libraries, and we have some great examples of hoopla partner libraries going above and beyond to reach their patrons. The summer is a great time to communicate the services available at your library, and our Featured Libraries have done just that.

Arlington Public Library

Photo courtesy of Shari Henry on Twitter @nahurry

Our friends at APL recently launched with patrons in June, and Shari Henry went on local ABC affiliate ABC7 to discuss the launch. APL Director Diane Kresh also wrote up a beautiful story on her blog as well, filled with links to personal recommendations. They also had a launch blowout with cookies, balloons and more. I’m getting hungry just writing this blog!

APL has taken a hugely successful launch and turned that into over 900 registered hoopla users in just under a calendar month.

McHenry Public Library District

Doubling down is usually reserved for the blackjack table, but MPLD has “doubled down” for the entire summer! During a special, summer promotion hoopla users at MPLD are able to borrow 10 titles instead of the usual 5. To celebrate this promotion, they have put up a special graphic on their website, along with sandwich board-esque signage and a hoopla flag in their library building.

Bucks County Library System

BCLS delivers in a very big way, with their newly adorned delivery trucks. These trucks can be seen across Bucks County, Pennsylvania delivering materials to their 18 locations. “Try Something New” is the slogan for this library, and they have definitely done so with these trucks!

Lambton County Library

In Ontario, Lambton County Library has some very talented patrons in their community. At their launch event, “The hoopla at your library song!” was performed by Cory and Ben Sitek. This smooth, jazzy song is a great example of unique events held by libraries during their launch. Students from St. Patrick’s Catholic High School also put together real-life scenarios with the theme “hoopla Might Have the Answer.” Students fully produced this video, which further showcases the talented members of the Lambton County community.

Our Featured Libraries for April include Topeka, Lafourche and Midpointe!

April 21, 2015

Brace yourself, summer is coming! And that means summer reading programs and all sorts of patron-engaging activities. This summer, we want to see the fun and novel ways you are reaching your patrons. If your library is doing a summer reading program, we want to hear about it! If you’re throwing a big summer bash, we want all the details. Anything you’re planning to connect with your community this season, let us know!

This month, we have some great examples of how our Featured Partner Libraries are connecting with their community through hoopla and all of the other great services they offer to cardholders. Let’s start the list with a great campaign Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library recently completed:

Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

One of our earliest partner libraries, T&SCPL built a campaign around their newsletter, Library News. They then sent this newsletter to all of the members of their community in the mail. The February/March edition covered not only hoopla, but their program “The Big Read.”

Wicomico Public Library

To celebrate their launch to patrons, WMDT 47 in Salisbury, Maryland had Adult Service Manager Scott Mahler on to discuss hoopla. On their daily morning show, Good Morning Delmarva, Scott and host Lenita Wesson discuss the hoopla service and Wicomico Public Library.

Midpointe Library System

Our friends in Middletown, Ohio gave away a “movie night prize pack” with hoopla gear and snacks and treats for a night-in on the library. They gave this basket away at their local All American Expo.

Lafourche Parish Library

Fun, exciting activities are another great way to connect with patrons young and old. In Lafourche Parish, hoop-la toss is the name of the game. With this library-made ring hoop-la toss game, kids have a unique way to connect with hoopla at Lafourche Parish Library. LPL also has some great-looking fashion models with excellent taste in t-shirts.

Here are some additional images and assets libraries are using to connect with card holders both online and their brick and mortar locations.

Image courtesy of Innisfil Public Library

Innisfil, Evansville and Claiborne Parish Among our Latest Featured Libraries

March 19, 2015

The extremely generous Innisfil Public Library in Ontario held a special giveaway to their patrons. The library awarded a patron with an iPad Air. Innisifil ran this giveaway to kick off their hoopla rollout, and is just one example of some of the fun and engaging ways our Featured Libraries have been telling their patrons about hoopla.

Here are some of the other top activities some of our other Partner Libraries are doing to inform and engage:

Our friends at Mooresville Public Library created a series of videos hyping up their launch. In the video series, staff members show off a number of activities that are hard to do, compared to the simplicity of hoopla.

Getting cheers from the media is always a plus when introducing hoopla to your community. Take Evansville, Indiana, and the Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library as an example. This library is getting high marks from Kelly Gifford in the Evansville Courier & Press. Kelly remarks “It’s kind of awesome.” in her story, which can be read in its entirety here.

Staying cool this spring is an easy task for hoopla the Bear at Forsyth Library. hoopla The Bear has been a popular denizen of the library, and here he is participating in storytime with some local youths. hoopla (the Bear) is on the cutting edge of fashion as well, with his sharp hoopla t-shirt!

Creating a kiosk is an easy way to buid a point of conversation with your patrons. Claiborne Parish Library created a display using a computer and some homemade posters to go along with some hoopla-created collateral materials. Ashley Fuller, Network Specialist at the library said “I’ve noticed that everyone looks at it when they walk by!” Many libraries have created a wide array of displays to communicate about hoopla.

Try creating your own display and sending it to us. We’ll make sure it shows up in our next edition of Featured Libraries!

CADL, Ottawa Public Library kick off our "Featured Libraries" series

February 19, 2015

Finding fun and exciting ways to inform your cardholders and community about hoopla is a crucial part of hoopla’s success at your library. Recently, our hoopla Coordinators collected some engaging initiatives Partner Libraries have undertaken to get the word out about hoopla. We are proud to share some of these efforts with you as part of an ongoing series entitled Featured Libraries.

Our first featured library is Lansing, Michigan’s Capital Area District Library. CADL partnered with local radio station 97.5 NOW FM and radio DJ Josh Strickland to create a 30-second ad that aired during their local Grammys broadcast. Since airing this ad, circulations at CADL have increased roughly 75% percent in the last two weeks alone.

Ottawa Public Library in Ottawa, Ontario recently launched hoopla to their patrons. To celebrate the launch, Ottawa provided patrons with free microwave popcorn with a hoopla-centric wrapper. The wrapper messaging that hoopla content is always available with no waiting, no holds and no late fees sends their cardholders a strong message.

Today is our @HooplaDigital launch! http://t.co/K7xlxw6OjX. What goes better with a free movie than FREE POPCORN! pic.twitter.com/z3p1UoAH2F
— OttPubLib/BibPubOtt (@opl_bpo) February 17, 2015

Another great initiative was a live news story by KSDK in St. Louis, Missouri, done in conjunction with the St. Louis Public Library. KSDK conducted an interview with Rob Tygett, (Manager of Digital Library Services), who showed off the hoopla mobile app and our website. The story on local news has proven to be a powerful asset, as growth of registered users and circulations continues to be strong for SLPL since KSDK aired this story on January 20.

Many of our partner libraries have mascots at their libraries, and many of those mascots have great fashion sense. You might recognize some familiar faces sporting some hoopla shirts at Fort Bend County Libraries in Houston, Texas.

We want to hear from our Partner Libraries and some of the great ideas and events you are conducting to get the word out about hoopla. Reach out to your hoopla Coordinator or Account Executive, or use our hoopla Community to show off your great work!