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Here at the library, we have two services for e-audiobooks: the Ohio Digital Library (which uses the OverDrive and Libby apps) and Hoopla Digital. As someone who loves her audiobooks, I’ve always got a sharp eye out to any tweaks that are made to either of these services. Well, recently, Hoopla did more than just tweak the audiobook player on their Apple and Android apps, and the improvements are awesome.

(The screencap below is on the Android app, but Apple looks almost identical, which for my money, is also a very cool improvement.)

So, this is what it now looks like when you have an audiobook playing in the Hoopla app.

The arrow in the top left exits the book. It will keep playing, though, unless you pause or close the app altogether. This is nice if you want to search for something on Hoopla while your book plays.

Tapping the car icon at the top right enlarges Play/Pause, back 15 seconds, and bookmark, hiding everything else. In other words, the really important stuff is easy to see at a glance. Obviously though, please be careful adjusting your audiobook while in the car. The bookmark at the far right marks your current spot.

The slider under the book cover shows how far along you are either In Chapter or In Book total. The one currently showing has the white background, and you just tap the other to see that information. Sadly, chapter information isn’t available for all books.

Below that, you’ve got the playback options which are: back 15 seconds, back one chapter, Play/Pause, forward one chapter, and forward 15 seconds. (Again, the chapter options are not available on all books.)

Along the bottom, set a Sleep Timer so if you think you are going to nod off, your book doesn’t play all the way to the end. You can also view all the Chapters in the book and skip around to different chapters (at least when available), view the Bookmarks you set, and change the playback Speed. The playback speed can now be cranked all the way up to 4x normal (yikes!), but you can also use a slider to more finely tune just how quick you want it. (For instance, I’m currently listening to a book at 1.36 speed, and it’s perfect.)

So, head on over to Hoopla with your library card number and PIN to get started today! If you need some help setting up your account or using any of the features of Hoopla, take a look at my handout here, or stop in at the Reference Desk and we can give you a hardcopy.

Shelia

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