My public library offers Hoopla to its patrons. I instruct my students on how to use it. Last year, I had an issue with Hoopla that uncovered an unfortunate situation. Hopopla's Kids Mode is not attached to the patron's Hoopla account, it is instead attached to the device the patron accessing Hoopla from. Meaning a student logs in and uses Hoopla with their account on a school device with Kids Mode turned on. But when that same student logs into their Hoopla account from another device, Kids Mode has to be turned back on again-the setting doesn't stay with the account. I contacted Hoopla about this problem and they verified this issue is real. They do not know when they will get around to correcting the problem. Great tool but BIG problem with this function being useless. Sherry Martin On Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 12:02 PM Sarah Skinner via Michlib-l < michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
Hello fellow Michigan library colleagues,
I am reaching out to the community to learn about common practices regarding digital resources like Kanopy and Hoopla. Specifically, does your library implement any age restrictions on these services for patrons?
We recently added Kanopy to our digital offerings, and we are currently discussing whether to restrict access for minors. Some staff are concerned about potential CIPA violations and parental backlash due to mature content, such as nudity or sexual themes in certain films. Others believe that restricting access constitutes censorship.
My thought is that since Kanopy offers a "KIDS" section and parental controls, it is the parent's responsibility to manage their child's viewing. Additionally, I do not believe this falls under CIPA, as we do not use E-Rate funds for this resource.
We would appreciate hearing your perspectives or learning about the procedures your libraries have in place for these digital services.
Thank you in advance for your help!
--- Kind regards, Sarah Skinner (she/her) District Headquarters Manager Van Buren District Library 200 N. Phelps Street Decatur, MI 49045 _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
-- *Sherry Martin, Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS)* Media Specialist at Defer, Richard, and Pierce Article Link <https://www.capstonepub.com/librarians/we-love-librarians> *Grosse Pointe Public School System * www.gpschools.org Defer Phone: 313-432-4007 Richard Phone: 313-432-4907 Pierce Phone: 313-432-4707 Email: martins@gpschools.org *Our Mission:* Cultivate Educational Excellence By: - Empowering Students - Valuing Diversity - Inspiring Curiosity - Pushing Possibilities *Our Vision:* One inclusive community learning together