FAQs

You can check out up to 3 items per month with Hoopla. Please note there are other monthly limits for the entire library system.

For loan period, please read how long can I check out items.

Sorry about that! This happen fairly often because Hoopla's account system is different than all of our other online resources and that leads to some unique situations.

First, Hoopla's account system has you create a new username and password, and then link that new account to your 14 digit library card number and PIN. We try to avoid this whenever possible so you have a more seamless experience but it's needed in this case.

Second, Hoopla is one of the few subscription services we use that also allows linking multiple library cards to their account, even cards outside of Palo Alto, which sometimes leads to confusion because library staff will try to find you in our account database but you're not there under our library. 

All of this leads to 3 very common problems:

1. Not knowing the email address you used when you first signed up for Hoopla. In this situation they have a "forgot email" option on their login page that can get you back in.  Note that this isn't necessarily the same email you used with your Palo Alto library card. It also doesn't help if you're experiencing problem #2...
2. The library card that was attached to your account is no longer active or was replaced with a new account number. When your account number changes or expires, their system doesn't not auto-update with our account database. For this situation we have a detailed blog post that shows how to update your library card info without the help of library staff (we can also show you how). However, if you don't know #1 or #2, you're now in situation #3.
3. You don't know which email address (Hoopla username) or library card # that's linked to Hoopla. No one enjoys this guessing game—we know! If you're in the 3rd situation you have a few options. You could try to create a new account and see if allows you to link your library card. That works for most people if they haven't used Hoopla in a long time. If the card number is already being used in the Hoopla, their account system won't allow you to add it to a new login and their site is going to come back with an error message. Send us an eHelp ticket if that's happening.

Don't be confused! This message means the library’s shared daily budget for Hoopla checkouts has been used up—not your personal limit of 3 instant borrows per month.

Unlike other online resources, each Hoopla checkout costs the library a small amount, and once our collective borrowing budget reaches a specific amount, no more items can be checked out until midnight when the limit resets.

If you see this message, please add the title to your Favorites in Hoopla so you can easily borrow it after midnight or the following day.