GREENFIELD — Hancock County Public Library cardholders can soon access thousands of critically acclaimed movies and top documentaries using an online streaming service.
The library plans to offer Kanopy, an on-demand video service, to its selection of online resources of videos, ebooks, magazine and audiobooks, director Dave Gray recently told the Hancock County Public Library Board. The streaming platform contains more than 30,000 documentaries, indie films and classic cinema, from “To Catch a Thief” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Moonlight” and “Lady Bird.”
Gray said the streaming service, which will be available for all library patrons, fills a need for its digital content offerings. Many people use OverDrive, which provides access to ebooks, audiobooks and magazines; and Hoopla, which is host to music, movies, audiobooks and comics. Kanopy furthers the library’s digital content to include many nonfiction documentaries and independent movies, Gray said.
Kanopy, Hoopla and even the library’s DVD collection of movies and televisions shows each provide different types of content, Gray said, similar to Netflix and Hulu. Someone might be able to check out a DVD from the library that’s not available to stream online, or vise versa. Gray said Hoopla and Kanopy allow for concurrent usage, meaning patrons don’t have to request or place a hold on videos.
Terri Gorden, technical services librarian, said starting out, each patron will have 10 movie check-outs a month. The library pays for each video checked out, about $2 or less per stream, Gray told the board.
Gorden said Kanopy’s pay-per-use will save money in the long-run since the library won’t have to purchase and keep most of the videos found on the streaming platform in its physical collection. Some of the movies might get hundreds of views, while others could get a few, Gorden said.
Indianapolis Public Library and Carmel Clay Public Library both offer Kanopy, according to its website.
There’s a convenience factor for the library’s growing pool of electronic resources, Gray said. Cardholders checked out 129,183 items from OverDrive and 30,545 from Hoopla in 2018, he said. Nearly a decade prior, in 2010, Hancock County Public Library’s electronic circulation had about 10,000 check-outs, according to a 2015 annual report.
“It’s nice to be able to open an app on your phone and be able to check something out from the library,” Gray said, “and I think it’s expected now.”
Overdrive and Hoopla also don’t charge late fees, Gray said, and items can’t get lost or never returned like physical books and movies.
Gray said he doesn’t yet have a set start date for Kanopy, but he’s aiming for late March or early April. People can access the service on an iPhone, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast, Roku and FireTV.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Kanopy” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Kanopy is an online streaming service that is free to library patrons. It has more than 30,000 films in its catalog, ranging from popular recent movies to classics. It also offers documentaries and instructional videos on a wide range of topics. The service can be streamed on an iPhone, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast, Roku and FireTV.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
