Good afternoon,
 

We were recently contacted about a series of complaints related to a limited number of hoopla digital eBooks found on the platform by a group of Librarians. These titles are holocaust denial books and/or promote an ideology of hate. The presence of these titles has raised questions from some of these Librarians about hoopla’s collection policies and I want to make sure, as a valued hoopla Library partner, you are well informed. To those who reached out regarding these titles—thank you. We appreciate you sharing your comments and opinions.

We have removed these eBooks from hoopla
These eBooks are inaccurate and sources of propaganda that have no place in the hoopla Instant collection. My team has removed the titles from our platform. I apologize for any difficulties their inclusion may have caused you, your staff, or cardholders. Please know we have already started evolving our collection development and content review policies, including a new email address for reporting any title of concern (contentfeedback@hoopladigital.com).
 

How these titles made it onto hoopla
The titles from these five independent publishers came to us from our network of more than 18,000 unique publishers. They were added within the most recent twelve months and, unfortunately, they made it through our protocols that include both human and system-driven reviews and screening. As a result, we have taken immediate steps to improve our process.
 

This is a complex matter
Due to the hateful nature of these specific titles, I have no regrets about having our team remove them from hoopla. Despite my personal objections to these eBooks, I must acknowledge that this situation highlights a complex issue that Libraries have always faced in curating their collections—avoiding a culture of censorship. Just as Libraries receive challenges on items in their physical collections, we receive challenges on individual titles. We review those concerns and make the best decisions we can for the overall hoopla community.
 

We strive to empower every Library
In the event a Library encounters a title they wish to block from their hoopla collection, they are able to easily do this within their hoopla dashboard. For any Library needing assistance, please reach out to your hoopla support specialist and they will be happy to either assist you or block the title for you.
 

We believe access to large and varied collections is essential for Libraries
Offering a robust digital collection of quality content with an intuitive patron experience is essential for each Library and their community. We believe that representative collections must include titles from publishers both large and small.
 

Thank you and know we will continue to listen and evolve
I am genuinely thankful for your partnership and for the ongoing collaboration with all of our Librarians that has been critical since the inception of hoopla digital. You have my commitment and that of our team that we will indeed continue to advance our product and services and always welcome your feedback.

Sincerely,

Jeff Jankowski

President, Midwest Tape

Founder, hoopla digital

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