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Libby vs hoopla
Last updated: July 09, 2023
Libby and hoopla are two popular platforms for borrowing and enjoying digital content from libraries, but they have key differences in terms of user experience, content availability, and platform compatibility.
1. User Experience: Libby is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. Developed by OverDrive, Libby offers a seamless and streamlined borrowing experience. It allows users to search and borrow e-books, audiobooks, and magazines directly from their local library's collection. Libby provides features like personalized recommendations, customizable reading settings, and the ability to sync progress across devices. The app's user-centric design and straightforward navigation make it easy for users to discover and enjoy digital content from their library. Hoopla, on the other hand, offers a different user experience. It provides a more visually engaging interface with a focus on multimedia content. Hoopla offers not only e-books and audiobooks but also movies, music, comics, and TV shows. Its interface caters to users looking for a diverse range of digital media, creating a more immersive and multi-dimensional borrowing experience.
2. Content Availability: Libby primarily focuses on providing access to e-books, audiobooks, and magazines from library collections. It offers a wide range of titles and is known for its extensive e-book and audiobook catalog. Libby allows users to borrow digital content using their library card and access it on their preferred device. Hoopla, on the other hand, offers a broader selection of digital media beyond e-books and audiobooks. It provides access to movies, TV shows, music albums, comics, and more. Hoopla's content library may vary depending on the user's local library's subscription, but it offers a diverse array of multimedia options for users looking to explore beyond traditional books.
3. Platform Compatibility: Libby is available on various platforms, including iOS, Android, and web browsers. It is compatible with smartphones, tablets, and computers, providing users with flexibility in accessing their borrowed content. Libby also supports integration with e-book readers like Kindle and offers options for offline reading. Hoopla, similarly, is accessible on iOS and Android devices, as well as through web browsers. It also supports streaming on popular platforms like Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Hoopla's multi-platform compatibility allows users to enjoy their borrowed media on different devices and through various streaming services.
1. User Experience: Libby is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. Developed by OverDrive, Libby offers a seamless and streamlined borrowing experience. It allows users to search and borrow e-books, audiobooks, and magazines directly from their local library's collection. Libby provides features like personalized recommendations, customizable reading settings, and the ability to sync progress across devices. The app's user-centric design and straightforward navigation make it easy for users to discover and enjoy digital content from their library. Hoopla, on the other hand, offers a different user experience. It provides a more visually engaging interface with a focus on multimedia content. Hoopla offers not only e-books and audiobooks but also movies, music, comics, and TV shows. Its interface caters to users looking for a diverse range of digital media, creating a more immersive and multi-dimensional borrowing experience.
2. Content Availability: Libby primarily focuses on providing access to e-books, audiobooks, and magazines from library collections. It offers a wide range of titles and is known for its extensive e-book and audiobook catalog. Libby allows users to borrow digital content using their library card and access it on their preferred device. Hoopla, on the other hand, offers a broader selection of digital media beyond e-books and audiobooks. It provides access to movies, TV shows, music albums, comics, and more. Hoopla's content library may vary depending on the user's local library's subscription, but it offers a diverse array of multimedia options for users looking to explore beyond traditional books.
3. Platform Compatibility: Libby is available on various platforms, including iOS, Android, and web browsers. It is compatible with smartphones, tablets, and computers, providing users with flexibility in accessing their borrowed content. Libby also supports integration with e-book readers like Kindle and offers options for offline reading. Hoopla, similarly, is accessible on iOS and Android devices, as well as through web browsers. It also supports streaming on popular platforms like Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Hoopla's multi-platform compatibility allows users to enjoy their borrowed media on different devices and through various streaming services.
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Libby is the newer library reading app by OverDrive. Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more from your local library for free
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Hoopla is a web and mobile library media streaming platform for audio books, comics, e-books. hoopla syncs across all your devices, so you can stream titles immediately or whenever you're in the mood.
Libby vs hoopla in our news:
2024. Macmillan Audiobooks are now available on Cost-Per-Circ
Overdrive has announced a partnership with Macmillan, joining their Cost-Per-Circ program for libraries, which offers a fresh approach to accessing audiobooks. This initiative presents a boon for libraries, enabling the addition of all Macmillan audiobooks to their collections with payment only when a reader borrows a title. These audiobook copies can coexist with other editions like One Copy/One User or Metered Access versions of the same title, enhancing flexibility and increasing reading opportunities for patrons. Noteworthy titles from Macmillan's audio catalog include "Apples Never Fall" by Liane Moriarty, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing" by Matthew Perry, "Maame" by Jessica George, Kristin Hannah's "The Four Winds," and more.
2024. Overdrive Libby is improved for reading digital magazines
Libby has undergone enhancements to capitalize on the proliferation of digital magazines accessible through library branches, introducing a dedicated Magazine Rack section within the Shelf summary. This distinct area showcases the latest editions of users' subscribed magazines and any other selected publications, streamlining the process of locating preferred magazines within the library's offerings. Additionally, users now have the convenience of subscribing to magazines directly from the library via a new Subscribe option on search results and title details pages. With each new issue's release, it automatically populates the user's Magazine Rack and initiates a checkout process for the library. Moreover, users can seamlessly access and commence reading magazines with a single tap, triggering a checkout. A variety of popular magazines affiliated with Overdrive, such as Time, Us Weekly, National Geographic, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone, are readily available across most libraries, complemented by offerings like PC World, Bon Appetit, Minecraft World, and Women’s Fitness.
2023. Overdrive Libby is making it easier to read magazines
Overdrive, the company powering the majority of public libraries across Canada, the United States, and a significant portion of Europe, is in the process of enhancing its app called Libby. As part of this update, they are introducing a larger selection of complimentary magazines. The uniqueness lies in the fact that these magazines can be accessed by an unlimited number of users simultaneously, and there are no restrictions on circulation. Consequently, libraries now have the opportunity to choose from a collection of over 4,000 current and past issues, eliminating the need for waiting lists. Noteworthy publications like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and Elle will be accessible to users without any cost. Overdrive has emphasized that the updated Libby app will streamline the process of subscribing to magazines, offering users the convenience of receiving alerts when new magazine issues become available. The app's improvements extend to enhancing the discovery of content, enabling users to initiate their reading experience with just a single tap.
2022. Libraries can now share thoughts and recommendations with Libby
Overdrive's Libby has recently introduced an exciting new feature that allows libraries to enhance reader engagement through sharing thoughts, quotes, trivia, and recommendations. Known as Shelf Talkers, this feature provides each library with a dedicated space within the Libby app to exhibit their curatorial expertise and knowledge by communicating personal notes directly to patrons. Shelf Talkers in Libby enable librarians to connect with readers by suggesting titles, offering intriguing insights about a book or author, showcasing the curators' personalities, and adding a unique library-specific touch to their Libby collection. Users can access shelf talkers on a title's details page in Libby, and librarians have the ability to schedule them for future publication, ensuring they remain fresh and timely. The current available types of shelf talkers include recommendations (featuring librarian and staff recommendations), favorite quotes (highlighting notable quotes from a title), trivia (providing interesting facts about a title or author), and thoughts (sharing timely updates such as readalikes, upcoming movie adaptations, release dates for the next book in a series, or details about upcoming book club meetings or author visits at the library).