Next week libraries will receive information (blog posts for websites and a social media tool kit) to inform patrons.
After the Daily Spending Cap has been in place, we will be reaching out to gather feedback on how the Spending Cap is impacting the patron experience. Please consider gathering the feedback as you’re hearing it so that you can share it with us.
Thank you for your continued support as we work through the ever changing and evolving world of eResources! Please reach out to Hilary Lewis with questions.
Do you remember your Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) username and password? Neither do I! It makes it frustrating to read the EBSCO eBook I downloaded! Is this familiar? Well, good news.
Due to the upcoming ADA II compliance deadline, EBSCO eBooks is sunsetting its Adobe Digital Editions requirement. The product will not be in compliance, and EBSCO has moved on! Welcome to the modern era: Thorium Reader!
Thorium is a modern alternative to ADE, specifically designed for offline eBook reading. Unlike ADE, patrons will nolonger have to create a separate username and password (note: they will still be required to use their EBSCO username and password).
Thorium’s benefits include a range of text-to-speech functions, the ability to choose font type, text size, and spacing, as well as change the overall layout of the eBook. It is also designed to work with a variety of screen readers, making it accessible to more types of readers than ADE could ever dream of.
This will only affect offline reading, when a patron checks out and downloads an EBSCO eBook from our collection. Right now, Thorium is only available via desktop and iOS apps, though the Android version is coming down the pike.
Again, the online reading experience won’t change. When a patron wants to download an eBook for offline use, they will need to download Thorium instead of ADE. Below, you can see what it will look like in the EBSCO experience. Note at the bottom, patrons are provided with a passcode that they will be prompted to enter once they open Thorium.
They will only need to enter the passcode once per device to open the downloaded eBook. Additionally, they can use the same passcode across six devices simultaneously. If, as happens, they forget the passcode, it is easy to generate a new one.
Thorium is available as an app on our Microsoft desktop and laptop computers. You can download it now to take a look!
Especially with the Hoopla changes coming May 1…now’s the perfect time for a reminder to take advantage of “bonus borrows.” Bonus Borrows, which are available the last seven days of every month, are not impacted by the overall daily spending cap in Allegheny County and also do not count as part of the 5 borrow monthly limit per person. Titles include books, movies, and more, and there are quite a few to choose from. So regardless of whether you’ve reached your personal limit, or your library has reached its daily limit – there’ll be things to borrow on the last week of the month!
Bonus Borrows show up as a list on the main page of the app when they are launched. This month’s are available March 25-31.
-Heather Auman, Western Allegheny Community Library
In September 2024, in an effort to contain ballooning eResources costs, we instituted several changes to our lending limits in Libby and Hoopla. An overview of those changes can be found here. Despite our 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 May 1, 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 Spending 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.
The Daily Spending Cap is a collective limit, not to be confused with the personal check out limit, which remains at 5 borrows per month.
Bonus Borrows, which are available the last seven days of every month, are not impacted by the Daily Spending Cap. Bonus Borrows let you borrow library books, movies, and more and do not count as part of the 5 borrow monthly limit.
Once the Daily Spending Cap is reached for the day, a message will be displayed in the Hoopla app and browser experience when a borrow is attempted. Here is an example of what the message will look like:
Notification message in the Hoopla app informing users that the daily borrowing limit has been reached and will reset at midnight.
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.
We are modeling our communication and support resources after the September 2024 changes. An FAQ and talking points will be provided for staff, and clear and transparent information will be shared with the public.
After May 1, we will be monitoring the daily turnaways and gathering information about the patron and staff experience. Simultaneously, we will explore alternative or additional long-term solutions. Those efforts will include gathering input from stakeholders.
*Please note that the original date for the Daily Spending Cap to begin was April 15 but that has been modified to May 1.
Please reach out to Hilary Lewis or Mary Phillips if you have any questions.
