Hays Public Library
Effective Jan. 1, the Hays Public Library monthly checkouts on the hoopla digital platform will be reduced from 20 to 12.
Hoopla is a primary lending platform used to offer digital content to cardholders, including eBooks, audiobooks, music and videos. This change does not impact checkout limits on physical items or other digital platforms.
Demand for digital content has skyrocketed during the past five years. With hoopla, the library pays about $2 every time an item is checked out.
Hays Public Library is funded by a mill levy paid by property taxes of residents within the Hays city limits. The library is also part of the Central Kansas Library System, which is funded by tax dollars from each of the member counties. As a library system member, HPL extends services to residents of all 17 member counties. The 2023 cost to extend hoopla to patrons outside the city limits will be around $36,000.
The Hays Public Library expects to see increased demand for hoopla in the future as the Central Kansas Library System has voted to cease offering hoopla after 2024.
Furthermore, the Central Kansas Library System administration and executive board have approved a funding reduction timeline that will result in an estimated $35,000 annual reduction in system funds to the Hays Public Library. The library strongly opposes the recently adopted Central Kansas Library System funding model and the overall administration and direction of the regional library system.
Even with the reduction to 12 checkouts, the library will still provide more hoopla checkouts per month than the state average of seven and the national average of 10.
Along with hoopla, the library offers a variety of digital resources, including the Sunflower eLibrary, which provides audiobooks and eBooks through the Libby app. This change will allow the library to serve more users in the future and invest more in all digital platforms. To view the full digital library, go to https://hayslibrary.org/online-resources/.
You can find out more about this change in service offerings at https://hayslibrary.org/hoopla-changes/.