ByWater Solutions, an open source community contributor and America's forefront provider of open source library technology support, announced today that they have partnered with Hoopla Digital to integrate its Flex model to Aspen Discovery and LiDA via API. This update will provide the Aspen Community with enhanced access to digital content while ensuring library staff enjoy the catalog curation efficiencies of API integration.
Nate Curulla, Co-Founder and CRO - ByWater Solutions, recently commented on the partnership:
We are thrilled to expand our partnership and offer a more robust integrated service for our mutual partners. Yanjun Li, Aspen Discovery Developer, worked closely with the team at Hoopla Digital to ensure our libraries have seamless access to content from Hoopla Flex.
Hoopla Flex allows librarians to manage their digital collections more dynamically in a way that directly addresses their patrons' interests. It provides libraries with the ability to customize collections with the newest, most popular one copy/one user eBooks and audiobooks.
Key Features of Hoopla Flex for Libraries:
- Numerous License Types: Time-metered, usage-metered, and perpetual licenses
- Customizable Collections: Digital myCARTS help maintain a current collection
- Data-Driven Insights: Libraries can analyze usage data to understand what patrons are borrowing, minimizing holds and waitlists for patrons
- No-Fee Transfers: Transfer your existing one copy/one user catalog without incurring extra fees
Aspen Discovery libraries will now be able to
- Include all Hoopla Digital titles--Instant AND Flex--in their catalog interface;
- Automatically update the catalog to include newly purchased Hoopla Flex titles and licenses.
- Automatically update the catalog to remove expired Hoopla Flex licenses; and
- Offer library patrons the full suite of borrow/hold functionality available within Aspen Discovery for Hoopla Flex titles.
Bridget Page, Sr. Product Manager, Product Discovery, at Hoopla, recently commented on the partnership:
Hoopla Flex allows patrons to discover the newest and most requested one copy/one user titles, while optimizing libraries' budget, increasing license utilization, reducing waitlists, and leading to greater patron satisfaction. This partnership will help serve the many Aspen libraries that have purchased Flex licenses, as well as future adoptees of Aspen and Hoopla Digital."
About Aspen Discovery
Aspen is a full-featured Discovery System that integrates with e-content and other 3rd party providers, giving your patrons comprehensive access to all of your materials in one place. Aspen combines your library catalog with e-content, digital archives, and enrichment from all major third-party providers, improves relevancy and ease of use, provides native reading recommendations, displays all formats of titles within one result (FRBR), and much more.
Aspen was created to give users an improved experience over other Discovery systems with less of an impact on library budgets. Aspen Discovery also includes a companion APP, Aspen LiDA, that gives your patrons an intuitive, user-friendly way to manage their own library experience. For more information about Aspen please visit https://bywatersolutions.com/projects/aspen-discovery.
About Hoopla Digital
With a mission to serve public libraries and their patrons, Hoopla is the only all-in-one app that provides online and mobile access to millions of eBooks, audiobooks, comics and manga, music, movies, TV, and more with BingePass. Available in 115 world languages, content on Hoopla is available for free with a valid library card. Hoopla is the pioneer of the pay per use model that allows library patrons to borrow content immediately, no waits or holds required.
Headquartered in Holland, Ohio, Hoopla is a service of Midwest Tape, a trusted partner to public libraries for over 30 years. For more information or to download the Hoopla app, visit HooplaDigital.com.
About ByWater Solutions
ByWater Solutions is a full-service, high-quality open source support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower-cost, more advanced level of support for their systems than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in first-rate implementation and support services with library systems of all sizes for the Koha ILS, Aspen Discovery, Metabase, and Libki PC Management.
Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions not only lowers the cost of implementation and maintenance of OSS but, more importantly, empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve.