Tips & Tricks for ACLA Databases and Downloadables

Hoopla changes coming in April

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As many of you know, in an effort to contain ballooning eResources costs, in Fall 2024 we instituted several changes to our lending limits in Libby and Hoopla. (An overview of those changes can be found here.) Despite our valiant efforts across the county, our January 2026 Hoopla bill was more than our August 2024 bill, which was right before we implemented our current checkout limits. Unfortunately, this is simply not sustainable and requires quick action.  

Starting April 15, we are implementing a daily spending cap. This sets a dollar amount limit that, once reached, will pause Hoopla checkouts until the next day. The daily cap resets at midnight local time. Unfortunately, managing the expense of a cost per circulation model cannot be effectively done through loan limits alone. The spending cap is the only way to establish a predicable cost while still continuing to offer this popular service. 

Patrons will encounter new messaging in the app and browser experiences. This is a collective limit, not to be confused with the personal check out limit, which remains at 5 per month. 

This is what it will look like: 

Please encourage patrons to use the Favorites button so they can build a curated collection to choose from quickly. The best times to borrow, according to other library systems that have made this change, are just after midnight or before 8am.  

Currently, there are limitations on our ability to change the wording of this message and the timing of the daily reset. We will continue to advocate for more control over both of those settings.  

We know this is not an ideal solution and that you and patrons will have many questions. Drop-in sessions to share more detailed information and for questions and answers are scheduled for staff: 

March 3, 2026, 12:30 pm – 1: 15pm 

Microsoft Teams meeting  

Click Here to Join March 3 Drop In Session  

Meeting ID: 246 948 213 077 6  

Passcode: pg75Vk26 

March 5, 2026, 11:00am – 11:45am 

Microsoft Teams meeting  

Click Here to Join March 5 Drop In Session  

Meeting ID: 286 003 821 453 53  

Passcode: SW6Mm6Zx 

March 11, 2026, 1:00pm – 1:45pm 

Microsoft Teams meeting  

Click Here to Join March 11 Drop In Session  

Meeting ID: 288 869 839 325 77  

Passcode: yR2YC6vV 

We will also be modeling our communication and support resources after the September 2024 changes. An FAQ will be provided for staff, and clear and transparent information will be shared with the public.  

Following this change, we will monitor the daily turnaways and gather information about the patron and staff experience. Simultaneously, we will continue to explore alternative or additional long-term solutions. Those efforts will include gathering input from stakeholders.  

 
Please reach out to Hilary or Mary if you have any questions.   

-Mary Phillips, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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NoveList K-8 Plus: Assisting Young Readers in Discovering Their Next Great Book

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At our library, we are constantly in search of tools that make the journey of reading discovery enjoyable, meaningful, and accessible. NoveList K-8 Plus stands out as one of our top choices for supporting students, caregivers, and educators!

What Is NoveList K-8 Plus?

NoveList K-8 Plus is an online readers’ advisory and book recommendation database specifically designed for children in Kindergarten through 8th grade. This fantastic resource helps young readers—and the adults guiding them—find books that they will love, whether it’s the ideal next read or titles related to classroom subjects. You can easily access it via your library’s website using your library card, providing free access to curated reading support from the comfort of home, school, or the library.

What Makes It So Helpful?

Here’s how kids, parents, and educators can benefit from NoveList K-8 Plus:

Discover books by reading level and interest

Search by grade range, genre, or topics like “friendship,” “superheroes,” or “mystery” to uncover books that match both reading ability and curiosity.

Receive read-alike suggestions

Loved a book? Find similar titles, authors, and series recommendations that keep kids engaged and excited.

Explore both fiction and nonfiction

Whether it’s picture books, chapter books, or informational texts, NoveList K-8 Plus encourages reading for enjoyment and learning.

Browse curated, theme-based reading lists

Searching for award-winning titles, seasonal reads, or books related to classroom units? There are hundreds of ready-made lists to explore.

Why It’s Great for Libraries

As library staff, we appreciate how NoveList K-8 Plus aids reader advisory in a kid-friendly manner. Its user-friendly interface and expertly curated content simplify the process of:

  • Answering questions like “Can you suggest books similar to this one?”
  • Creating reading lists for display or instruction
  • Assisting families in finding books that align with their interests and abilities
  • Supporting classroom teaching with age-appropriate, curriculum-aligned recommendations

Gabi B – Robinson LIbrary

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Build Diverse Booklists with Novelist

Happy Black History Month, everyone! 

If you haven’t noticed yet, Novelist has a new look that is: just like all the other Ebsco products! If you want a broad overview about the new Novelist experience, you can click here to learn more about it from Ebsco itself. 

But I’ve already blogged about that. What I’m here to blog at you about today is how the tools in the new Novelist experience can support you when building diverse booklists to use in Bibliocommons, printed booklists, display inspiration, and more.  

Novelist’s advanced search has lots to offer, but I am going to focus on the author facets. You have to scroll down a bit to find them, but here you can see options for the author’s gender identity, cultural identity, and nationality.  Lots to choose from!

For instance, let’s say you want to make a Black History Month fiction display in your Teen space, you can select “Black” as the author’s cultural identity. 

Then you can select “Teen” as the Audience, and “Fiction” to return a list of novels. 

Using just those three facets, you’ll get a list of more than 1700 titles! That’s a lot! Maybe too much! So, to go a step further, you can also use keyword searches. Here, I’ve used “secret societies” because secret societies are cool. You can see the results have narrowed down to a manageable list of 55 results.  

From there, you can use the “Check the Library Catalog” button to be whisked away into our collections in Bibliocommons, find read-alikes, save items to lists in your Ebsco account, and all the other good stuff Novelist can do with its results lists. 

Our collections are built to reflect the vibrant, diverse communities we support. Take a cruise through Novelist’s author facets to find out how they can help this vital work. 

-Mary, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 

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Get the Word Out about Gale LegalForms

Finding reliable, relevant, and state-specific legal forms is super easy with Gale LegalForms. While we are able to recommend it to patrons when they ask for help, how can we get the word out when they don’t ask?!

Thankfully, Gale’s done the work for us! They have a selection of Marketing Materials to highlight this very useful resource.

Gale Support offers marketing materials to create bookmarks, blog posts, flyers, social media posts & more.

Screen shot of list of GaleLegalForms marketing materials.
This is just a sampling of what’s available!

Many of the products are customizable for your location where you can add your library’s logo, website, etc.

Screenshot of Gale LegalForm marketing poster with red arrows pointing to areas that are customizable.
Customize documents specific to your library!

You can print flyers or shelf talkers to display near your collection of legal titles or to post in high-traffic areas or near computer centers.

Find them all on Gale’s Marketing Materials site: https://support.gale.com/doc/gale-legalforms-one-sheet

Don’t let users think they have to pay for legal forms online. Make sure they know they can get reliable free resources from your library!

-Richelle, Sewickley Public Library

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