Local library directors are celebrating a small win this week after the return of Hoopla, a streaming service for audiobooks and ebooks made free to library patrons through funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Erin Busbea, director for the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System, said while she is glad to see the return of Hoopla services, her concern surrounding the future of IMLS funding hasn’t gone away.
“We have it right now, and people should definitely use it,” Busbea said. “It’s a great resource. … It’s still very concerning. At first I was real optimistic, but there’s just a lot of moving parts, and everything is kind of crazy right now, but right now at least we have it.”
Access to Hoopla services was discontinued in April after the entire IMLS staff was placed on administrative leave following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 14, calling to eliminate IMLS “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” All IMLS grants and funding processes were paused.
IMLS distributes about $2.1 million to the Mississippi Library Commission in Jackson through its Grants to States program. MLC then administers these funds to individual library systems as Library Services and Technology Act grants, which are used to fund many programs and services in libraries across the state, including free access to Hoopla.
Last week, Jennifer Lena, executive director for the Mississippi Library Commission, sent an email to all library system directors in Mississippi stating that MLC had received 50% of its IMLS funding, and Hoopla services would return at least through Sept. 30.
Lena said in her email that the other 50% of funding was expected to be received, but if it isn’t, access to the platform will shut down again Oct. 1.
“We’re very cautiously optimistic,” Lena said. “Fingers crossed, prayers said, it’s looking very positive at the moment that we will get our grant and that things will go forward. That could change at any minute, as we’ve learned.”
Priscilla Ivy, head librarian at Bryan Public Library in West Point, which headquarters the Tombigbee system, said she was excited about Hoopla’s return, crediting patrons with the return of its services.
“I am so excited about it and so are our patrons,” Ivy said. “I’m really happy that they’re able to access this service again because once it was down, we really understood how important it was to our patrons, and we thank them for contacting representatives and all of Congress to let them know how important the service is to them.”
Phillip Carter, director for the Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System, did not comment by press time. But a Facebook post from the library confirmed access to Hoopla services is available.
Funding through the Grants to States program is statutory, meaning it would take an act of Congress to eliminate those funds, Lena said. However, Lena said to her knowledge, all other grants through IMLS have been terminated, meaning no additional funds can be awarded to library systems.
Lena said library patrons should continue to contact their state representatives to advocate for continued funding of their library systems.
“They’re going to continue to try to wipe away IMLS,” Lena said. “If it’s not this year … It could potentially make it on the agenda in the next sessions to get rid of it. So, absolutely it is still a concern. Did we just buy one more year, or are we in the clear? That’s where it makes a difference for people to advocate for their libraries and for IMLS.”
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