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BACKGROUND <br /> The City of Pleasanton has provided high quality digital library content to the community <br /> of Pleasanton for over twenty years. Pleasanton Public Library was one of the first five <br /> early adopters in the Bay Area for the Libby e-book platform. In the years following, <br /> usage of digital content has expanded as the number of library cardholders increases, <br /> technology access expands, and most recently, as the COVID-19 pandemic has <br /> brought an unprecedented surge in use. <br /> Libby and Hoopla are vendors that provide unique proprietary digital content to library <br /> markets and integrate with the library's management software (LMS), making both <br /> vendors unique services that would adhere to the City policy for sole source justification. <br /> Hoopla integrates with the library's catalog to allow for one-step searching on the web <br /> catalog. Additionally, Hoopla is the sole provider of audiobook, digital music and <br /> streaming movie content in a single platform for libraries. <br /> Libby is the sole provider of library e-book titles in the Amazon Kindle platform. <br /> Additionally, Pleasanton Public Library is part of a consortium of Bay Area libraries that <br /> share digital collections through the Libby platform. This provides Pleasanton users with <br /> a wider range of e-books and digital audiobooks. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> Digital content provides a wide range of information and entertainment for library users. <br /> Vendors work with public and school libraries to provide content for users of all ages, in <br /> multiple languages. The library's most popular digital content platforms are Libby and <br /> Hoopla. Libby usage accounts for 40% of all digital checkouts in a standard operational <br /> year. By December 1 , 2020, usage of Libby had increased 106% over the pre-COVID <br /> period in 2019. <br /> Libby 2019 Checkouts 2020 Checkouts Percent Increase <br /> (Jan-Nov) (Jan-Nov) <br /> TOTAL 56,611 116,726 106% <br /> To address unprecedented community demand for digital content that began early in <br /> the COVID-19 pandemic, the library increased the number of allowable checkouts of the <br /> Hoopla service for streaming music, movies, and audiobooks from five checkouts to <br /> fifteen checkouts per user, and increased Libby e-book checkouts from seven to ten <br /> total checkouts per user. Increasing the number of checkouts and the spending on <br /> digital materials was anticipated to be a short-term solution, however as the pandemic <br /> continues into 2021 , the demand for digital content in our community is stronger than <br /> ever. <br /> During the COVID-19 pandemic and temporary facility closure, Pleasanton Public <br /> Library expanded community access to digital books, movies, and audiobooks by <br /> increasing borrowing limits, extending library card expirations and due dates and other <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />