West Fargo Public Library Hoopla users may have noticed a change in item availability in early April. Due to increased use of the Hoopla service, the West Fargo Public Library’s budget for the pay-per-checkout service was depleting quickly. In an attempt to rectify this issue, the library adjusted settings within Hoopla that made more costly items unavailable.

What is Pay-Per-Checkout? 

Each individual item checked out through our Hoopla service is charged to the West Fargo Public Library. The cost is accrued regardless of how much of the book is read, video is watched, or audiobook is listened to. For audiobooks — the most frequently checked out items from the West Fargo Public Library's Hoopla service — in March 2023, each checkout cost an average of $2.91. Audiobooks can be as much as $3.99 per checkout. With hundreds of users checking out items each month, many of which are left unread, not listened to or unviewed, this cost grows quickly. 

Going Forward

After an overwhelming response from patrons about the loss of these items, we learned that the West Fargo community truly desires access to Hoopla materials of all price points. This change has since been reversed and items of all price points are once again available. 

Due to the varying cost of the items in Hoopla’s collection, however, the West Fargo Public Library is still taking action to keep this pay-per-checkout service within our budget.

The Hoopla app will now have a daily spend cap for the West Fargo Public Library userbase. All patrons will still be able to check out eight items per month with no personal daily limits for users, but there will be a daily spend cap for the entire userbase. If you attempt to check something out and get a message saying the cap has been reached, you are encouraged to check back the next day to check out your item(s).  

The West Fargo Public Library encourages users to access their item(s) through Libby — the library’s primary mobile app — when able. Libby does not charge per checkout. If the item you seek is not available in Libby, you can request it to be added through the library's Recommendation for Purchase form.