Toronto Public Library members now have access to an online vault of movies and music through Hoopla, a Netflix-like service for libraries.
As of Monday, anyone with a TPL card and an Internet connection can watch more than 10,000 movies and listen to 250,000 albums online.
Hoopla's collection of Hollywood blockbusters, best-selling albums, and educational material can be streamed on computers, tablets or smartphones for free.
The cost to the library is between $1 and $2 per title, so users are limited to five loans per month. When a user hits the "play" button, he or she will have three days to watch the movie, or seven days to listen to the album. When the time is up, the content is automatically "returned."
Unused loans do not carry over from month to month. At the beginning of every month, a user only has access to five loans, regardless of how many were used the previous month. Any unused loans are lost.
"The library's role is to respond to what its customers want and we are seeing more and more that there is a strong demand for e-content, so that's what this is all about," Toronto Public Library Spokesperson Ana-Maria Critchley told CP24 on Monday.
"We are providing a different and a new way of experiencing your library."
After TPL tested the Ohio-based service by giving access to employees about a month ago, Critchley said the feedback was positive.
Hoopla also provides 10,000 audiobooks, but TPL did not include the book service in the deal. Instead, card holders can access audiobooks through the library's website.
