What’s all the Hoopla?

The Westmont Public Library recently acquired Hoopla– an awesome resource for downloading ebooks, audiobooks, comics, movies, TV shows, and music. With your Westmont Public Library card, you will get six new check-outs per month on all of this amazing content. The best part of about Hoopla is that there are no holds- you can instant access!

We’re all loving this new resource and you will too! The management team at the Westmont Public Library have some feedback about their favorite downloads:

Brittany, Assistant Director:

I used to hate commuting back and forth from the city when I first started doing it in 2014. The radio always played the same songs over and over again, but I soon realized I could get a reading done each day if I listened to audiobooks! But recently I bought a new car, and it does not have a CD player! When I realized this, I was devastated to think my enjoyable commute would go back to channel surfing the radio. With the addition of Hoopla to our digital services, I do not have to go back to listening to the same five pop songs for almost 45 minutes! Hoopla offers a wide range of materials, including. new and best selling audiobooks! I am currently listening to Yes Please by Amy Poehler. The best part about this audiobook is the narration. From Amy herself to Seth Myers, Carol Burnett and even Amy’s parents, each chapter keeps you laughing and forgetting about the traffic you are currently stuck in!

Alea, Head of Youth Services:

What do you get when you cross hip-hop and history? Hamilton: the 2016 Grammy Award winner for Best Musical Theater Album and one of the most unlikely, yet phenomenal Broadway shows and cast recordings of the past two decades. Rich, nuanced wordplay, musical nods to hip hop styles from its roots in the 1970s to the hip hop of the new millennium, and touching performances from the entire cast catapult this show from typical Broadway fare to something even more visceral and relevant.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and star of the show, is great as Alexander Hamilton but Leslie Odom Jr. stuns as Aaron Burr, with his ability to easily transition between smooth R&B and slightly more rugged hip-hop, while Daveed Diggs’s ability to rap as the Marquis de Lafayette – with a noticeable French accent – is nothing short of mind-blowing.

I have listened to this show three times now and am still discovering turns of phrase I hadn’t heard on previous listening experiences. This show is not to be missed, so do yourself a favor and check this cast recording out on Hoopla and do it fast; the show is coming to Chicago this September and you won’t want to miss that, either!

Amy, Head of Tech Services:

I got started on Hoopla this week. It took seconds to create an account with my library card and download the app. I started off by looking for instructional videos for my newest hobby, yoga. I downloaded Gaiam: Flow Yoga for Beginners – Season 1. With the six checkouts I have per month, I can try a new yoga video every week and still have check outs to spare for a new book or movie. I love that Hoopla’s platform is so easy to navigate and that there’s no waiting for holds!

Barbara, Head of Adult Services:

I’m usually a non-fiction reader, but every now and then I want to read a fun, fiction book. With summer approaching, I’m starting to scout out some beach-type reads. I found The Substitute by Denise Grover Swank on Hoopla and am loving it! It follows the story of Megan, a young woman who has called off her engagement but hasn’t told anyone yet. When she meets a good-looking stranger on the airplane home, she thinks she can pass him off as her fiance…craziness ensues!

Check out these titles and more on Hoopla.