Hoopla Handling and Interactions

Owned by Ashley Sneesby, created
Last updated: Jan 23, 2024
4 min read

This documentation describes how Hoopla records are fetched and handled in Pika, the unique processing for the Hoopla sideload, and how Pika utilizes Hoopla’s APIs for patron interactions.

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Hoopla in Pika

Hoopla integration in Pika is somewhat unique, since the integration is a blend of a more traditional sideload with limited API functionality for patron interactions and some record updates. The integration is also unique in the way that the site agnostic Hoopla records are delivered, updated, and handled for all libraries using Hoopla.

Please reach out to the Pika team via the Marmot Help Desk if you find that the Hoopla integration for your Pika site isn’t meeting your library’s needs, especially in regard to settings that are available in your library’s Hoopla admin interface.

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Record Delivery Process and Indexing

The Hoopla records used for all Pika libraries (Marmot members and discovery partners alike) are provided to Marmot directly by Hoopla’s parent company, Midwest Tapes, on the 2nd day of a given month. The record sets are loaded directly to Marmot’s local FTP server by Midwest Tapes. These records are indexed and refreshed in Pika the following Saturday after they are loaded to Marmot’s FTP server.

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Records provided

Midwest Tapes provides the record sets Marmot uses for integration on a monthly basis – the record sets provided by Midwest Tapes are complete collections of the respective offerings from Hoopla and each monthly record set should be the most current representation of Hoopla titles, including new titles and excluding any titles that were removed from the collection in the month prior.

Because Hoopla offers such a large swath of titles, the record sets provided on the monthly basis are not processed immediately upon delivery, rather they are indexed and processed the Saturday following the most recent load. This frees up indexing space and resources in Pika.

Marmot typically applies all of the “ALL” Hoopla files as provided by Midwest Tapes to any site with libraries using Hoopla, which can then be limited for individual libraries that might not include certain collections using the existing Hoopla configuration for suppression.

The “ALL” files include Hoopla’s collections for Audiobooks, eBooks, Comics, Movies, Music, and TV. There is a unique indexing profile for each Pika site that controls which Hoopla record sets are included.

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Hoopla APIs and Pika

Pika mostly utilizes Hoopla’s APIs for patron interactions, however Pika also utilizes data points in the metadata records for titles.

APIs for patron interaction

Patron interactions supported by Hoopla’s APIs allow patrons to checkout Hoopla titles directly from their library’s Pika interface, to be captured in their currently checked out titles and reading histories in the account in Pika.

Patrons have to create a Hoopla account associated with their library card number at their library for full patron functionality in Pika. If patrons don’t have a Hoopla account associated with their library account, they will be prompted to create one and directed out to Hoopla’s site from Pika.

 

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APIs for record data points

While Pika prefers the MARC records provided by Midwest Tapes to present Hoopla holdings in the catalog, there are some useful data points in the associated metadata records Pika can use for suppression settings based on content fields as well as availability.

The metadata Pika extracts from a given Hoopla bib can be found in the staff view of a Hoopla record under the heading Hoopla Extract Information.

Pika utilizes kind, price, pa, profanity, and children from the metadata extract in conjunction with the Hoopla configuration to suppress Hoopla records from display in search results.

The active and dateLastUpdated data points from the metadata extract/API are utilized to ensure Pika is displaying active titles from Hoopla. The Hoopla API is queried nightly for any updates to the extract info and changes will be reflected in the nightly full reindex.

  • Active : Any title that is marked inactive will not display in Pika. Active titles have an active value of 1 and inactive titles have an active value of -1.

  • DateLastUpdated : dateLastUpdated is the last time Pika checked the API for updates for the record in question.

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Connecting your library’s Pika interface to Hoopla

The Hoopla configuration documentation lays out how to configure your library’s Pika interface to interact with Hoopla.

The Hoopla Library ID is the main data point Pika uses to connect to your library’s Hoopla account for integration and is required to utilize the API options. Marmot staff work with Midwest Tapes staff to configure the API functionality in Hoopla’s interface for integration in Pika using your library’s Hoopla Library ID.

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