Clayton County Public Library System and Clayton connected Podcast host, Valerie L. Fuller, talk Hoopla Showcase! Free resources for the whole family to borrow and enjoy from a digital library platform featuring audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines, or music everywhere…right at your fingertips. It’s a great option just in time for the holiday break using your your computer, phone, car, or your TV. All you need is a library card!

 

Introduction You’re tuned in to the Clayton Connected podcast in Clayton County where the world lands and opportunities take off.

Speaker 1

Hello and thank you for joining us today. Today we are in the Clayton Connected podcast studio with Raffina Oso, the Assistant Library Director, and Rebecca James, Assistant Director for Library Youth Services. So welcome ladies. Hello. Thank you.

Speaker 1
So today we are excited to talk to you about the Hoopla Showcase. What is the Hoopla Showcase and specifically my understanding is that it is a new platform at the Clayton County Library System.

Speaker 2
Yeah, before I go into that, it’s always great to be in your midst and on behalf of Director Parham, we want to thank you for once again giving the Clayton County Library the opportunity. to showcase its resources to the people of Clayton County. So we’re here to showcase Hoopla. Hoopla is a digital platform that contains e-books, which is electronic books, audio books. People can stream movies, music, TV shows, and it also contains comics and magazines.

Speaker 1
So. This is a new digital platform that’s been live, I believe, since August, available at all of the branches in the Clayton County Public Library System. Yes. So how will the new resource Hoopla benefit the Clayton County residents?

Speaker 2
It’s for all ages. So on the platform with all the different formats, there’s something for everybody, children, teens, adults, seniors. Um As Rafina said, so ebooks, audiobooks, the music choices are phenomenal. Movies, television, the graphic novels, manga, and I was telling Rafina that just last night I saw that they have added a huge anime collection to the television portion. So very exciting to see those additions to the Hoopla platform.

Speaker 1
So this is part of the new resources that the library system has added to its collection.

Speaker 2
Yes, and it’s an entertainment platform. So the library system is not just about, you know, helping people with their academics, you know,their schoolwork or helping people get jobs. We are also all about entertaining people so they can watch movies and all that and it also has some educational benefits.

Speaker 3 Hoopla also provides access to a lot of the great courses classes. So there’s, I was watching one that talks about the history of Christmas and there’s cooking from around the world. So a wide variety that will appeal to all of our citizens and we’re really happy about this program.

Speaker 1
And not just citizens just here in Clayton County right? Anyone with a library card can actually access the resources?

Speaker 3
Yes. As long as they are… it is a Clayton County Pines library card.

Speaker 1
Okay and what age group specifically can access Hoopla?

Speaker 3
Everybody! Everybody!

Speaker 1
That’s good because you know coming up not just throughout the year of course but especially coming up to the holidays, the kids are out, families will be traveling and looking for things to do to keep the kids entertained as well as the adults entertained. So great access, great opportunity to use Hoopla to enjoy family as well as friends and the kids and to entertain. Yes. So how can members access Hoopla?

Speaker 2
All they need to do is come into the library. We have six libraries all over the county to sign up for a library card or they can go to ClaytonPL.org and sign up for an e-card and electronic card. As soon as they sign up for the e-card, they can access who plan other resources.

Speaker 1 So that website is ClaytonPL.org. And if you have any questions, you can also call the library at 770-473-3850, right? Yes. So, do you want to talk about the operations, like hours for operations? I know you can get them on the website. Or you can call ahead of time. but what are the hours of operation?

Speaker 3 In normal non-holiday times the headquarters library on Battle Creek Road is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. To 9 p.m. Fridays 9 a.m. To 9 sorry 6 p.m. And then Saturdays 9 a.m. To 5 p.m. Our five branches are open Mondays and Tuesdays 9 a.m. To 9 p.m. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Next week we’ll have regular hours, Monday and Tuesday, and we’ll be closing system-wide at 5 o’clock Wednesday for Thanksgiving.

Speaker 1
Absolutely wonderful. I’m excited. I can’t wait to try it out myself. I’m gonna take some time to enjoy also, but we also know that that’s not sources, did you want to talk about or want to highlight specifically?

Speaker 2
Okay, the library system has hotspots so people can go to any of the branches and borrow the hotspots. And the hotspots we have can power up to 10 devices. So if you don’t have internet at home, we got you. Just come in, borrow the hotspots so that you’ll be able to connect to Hoopla.

Speaker 1
Borrow the hotspots. free internet accesses. These are free resources, guys, that we’re talking about, from hoopla to the hotspots. And I also understand that you have Chromebooks.

Speaker 3
We do have Chromebooks, Valerie. Each of our libraries has Chromebooks to check out. As long as you’ve got your Clayton County library card and are an adult, you can go into our branches and check those out. So you’ll have the device that you can stream Hoopla on, and then check out your hotspot at the same time. So you have internet connection. And I’ll tell myself, I always want borrow a hot spot when I’m going to go home and visit family so that I have internet when I leave Clayton County. So it’s think about that if you’re actually going to be going on a road trip.

Speaker 1
Yeah absolutely and with all the devices that we have today between computers you know our own personal laptops, work laptops, and different cell phones because kids adults were all accessing constantly throughout the day. I want to thank you both, Ms. Rafina Oso, for being here, as well as Rebecca James, on behalf of the Clayton County Public Library System. We look forward to using Hoopla and so many of the other devices and or free resources that you have. And I just know you’re going to come back real soon. We will. Exactly. We love to. Thank you so much. We’ll see you next time.

Outro
Thank you for listening to the Clayton Connected podcast in Clayton County, Georgia, where the world lands and opportunities take off.