As part of my professional and personal development, I have been a big fan of audiobooks.  I’ve used them when I travel, go for a walk, or just relaxing at home. It has helped me to get through more books than I normally would. I found an application that allows me to borrow audiobooks, as well as eBooks, videos, and music.

The app is called Hoopla, which uses a free service allowing me to join using my library card. It is available through a standard web browser as well as on iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. To sign-up, you will need to have an account with a local library. You can look up on the site to determine if your local library participates. When signing up, you will need to identify your library, enter your library card number, and your on-line PIN for the library.

Once you are in, you can search the Hoopla database and borrow up to 10 titles in a calendar month. The content can be downloaded to your device or streamed. Titles can be borrowed for 3 weeks and will be removed when the 3-week period ends. You can also mark certain titles as favorites if you want to borrow them in the future.

In the past few years, I have found several great books and documentaries for my professional and personal development as well as some albums and movies for entertainment. Being able to load them on my iPhone and iPad allows me to take these books, videos, and music with me.

Hoopla is a great tool to leverage the benefits of your local library without having to go there in person or having to remember to return the materials that you borrowed. You can access Hoopla at http://www.hoopladigital.com.