Have you ever found just what you wanted on Hoopla and clicked on Borrow, only to be met with this error message: The collective daily borrow limit set by your library has been reached and will reset at midnight. Please browse and add titles to favorites so you can easily access them after midnight.
What does that even mean? Let me explain. Nothing is wrong with your account. You haven't reached your limit, it's still 15 instant check-outs a month. Instead, the library has reached it's limit for the day. How does that happen? Well, the library pays for Hoopla monthly and Hoopla takes that monthly payment and divides it up by each day in that month. When you and other patrons check out items, each check-out costs something. eBooks have one cost and audiobooks another. So, as people find just what they want, it gets deducted from that daily amount. Eventually, all of the money for the day is gone and no one can check anything else out that day. The limit resets at midnight, so you can try again the next morning.
We find that this most often happens at the beginning of the month, when everyone's credits reset and the end of the month as people are trying to use up their credits. It also happens more quickly when school is out, say for a snow day or spring break.
If you run into this issue, one thing you can try is finding a Flex title instead. Flex titles are relatively new to Hoopla and work differently, more like on Libby. Flex titles may not always be instantly available, you may have to place a hold on them. You can tell if a title is an Instant or a Flex by the symbol above the cover image. A lightning bolt means instant, the normal kind of Hoopla check-out, and two arrows in a circle means Flex and it will also say either Available or Wait List.
Since Flex titles are purchased separately from the general Hoopla subscription, they are not subject to the daily limit like Instant titles are. The only limit for Flex titles is that you can only have 3 checked out at one time. If you return one once you have finished it, you can immediately get a new one. The selection for Flex titles is a bit more limited, but you're bound to find a book or audiobook to enjoy in that collection. If you have any questions, let us know!
