Borrowing eBooks, eAudiobooks, music, movies and TV shows for kids has never been easier! Are you snowed in? Just want to snuggle with your kiddo and avoid going back out into the cold?
Never fear! Libby and Hoopla both have ways to limit the content to kid friendly and it makes it really easy to browse the app looking for great books, audiobooks, music, movies and TV shows to either stream or download.
Libby – this is OverDrive’s new app – which is a bit more user friendly
- eBooks, eAudiobooks and videos
- 20 items can be checked out at one time
- eBooks and eAudiobooks can be checked out for up to 21 days; videos can be checked out for up to 7 days
- You can download the content for use offline
- You can place holds on items if they are checked out to another patron
- Click on the plus button in the middle of the app to adjust your preferences, including setting the audience to “juvenile” and limiting to only “available titles” (if you want something right away)
- My favorite part: Many of the kids picture books or readers have narration that can be turned on. I love that the PAW Patrol books can be read to my 4 year old – while I prepare dinner! Mo Willems and Eric Carle also read some of their books!
Hoopla
- eBooks, eAudiobooks, music and videos
- 10 items can be checked out per calendar month
- eBooks and eAudiobooks can be checked out for 21 days; music can be checked out for 7 days; videos can be checked out for 3 days
- Content is always available – you never have to place a hold
- You can download the content for use offline
- Click on “Settings” to activate “Kids Mode”
- My favorite part: I can download content and then turn my phone onto “Airplane Mode” and my 4 year old doesn’t use my data plan when he wants to watch a video. Also, is the music that you are currently listening to in the car with your kid driving you crazy? You can borrow a whole album of different music for a week!
Megan Fogt is the Library Service Manager for Children’s and Teen at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Squirrel Hill. She loves that Libby and Hoopla automatically return her materials, so she never gets late fees!