Anchorage library halves Hoopla borrows, seeks $150K to keep service running

Anchorage Public Library cardholders can now borrow half as many digital items each month through Hoopla, and on some days patrons may find the service unavailable until the daily spending cap resets the following morning. The library cut monthly limits from eight items to four, added a system-wide daily cap on a first-come, first-served basis, and asked the Anchorage Assembly to approve a $150,000 contract to keep the service running from May 1 through Dec. 31, 2026.

Hoopla provides immediate, waitlist-free access to more than 500,000 movies, TV shows, audiobooks, music titles, e-books, and digital comics. The service works through the Hoopla app on Android, Apple iOS, and Kindle Fire devices. When the daily cap is reached, patrons see a message telling them to try again the next day.

The cuts came after average monthly costs for the pay-per-use service exceeded $27,000 by the end of 2025, prompting the library to implement cost-control measures to utilize funds in the most judicious way to benefit the community. The borrowing limit dropped from eight to four items in January 2026. The library says it will evaluate whether the new limits are working after at least six months.

Despite the tighter limits, patrons have borrowed more than 31,000 digital items through Hoopla so far in 2026. The Assembly has approved Hoopla contracts in each of the two prior years. The current request is a sole-source agreement with Midwest Tape, LLC, the exclusive provider of the Hoopla platform, and awaits an Assembly vote.