The best-kept secret in streaming isn't an app — it's your library card
The cost of streaming is getting ridiculous these days, with even the best streaming services regularly jacking up their prices to squeeze a few more dollars out of us every month. Between the rise of ad-supported tiers and the increasingly confusing question of which show is streaming where, the promise of cord-cutting as a cheaper alternative feels like a relic of a bygone era.
The library has long been a go-to for borrowing books, magazines and music, but there’s another perk you may not know about: Many library systems offer access to movies and TV shows you can stream directly to your computer, phone, tablet or other device through platforms like Kanopy and Hoopla. Kanopy alone has over 30,000 movies and TV shows, including classics from the Criterion Collection, Oscar winners from years past, and A24 films. While Hoopla has around 1 million titles across its many categories of entertainment.
To get started, you’ll need a valid library card from your local or county library system. If you don't have time to visit a branch, good news: You don't actually need to set foot inside a building to start streaming. Public libraries have evolved significantly over the past few years, with hundreds now offering Instant Digital Cards (or e-Cards) you can get online in less than two minutes. Rather than checking your ID in-person, the system can check your geolocation or mobile phone number to confirm you live within their service area. Just head to your local library's website to sign up.
Once issued, your e-Card number and PIN give you immediate access to digital catalog services — including Libby and Kanopy — without ever setting up a physical card. Once you’re signed in, you can browse the available catalog and start watching. You can stream from your laptop, tablet, phone or TV through Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or Chromecast. Here is how to unlock instant access to Hoopla and Kanopy entirely online.
A beginner's guide to Hoopla
Hoopla works with public libraries across the U.S. to make it easy to instantly borrow eBooks, audiobooks, movies, and TV for free with just a library card. And items are always available, so there are no wait lists!
On Hoopla, you have a limited number of checkouts per month that's determined by your library (usually between five to 10 items, with each TV show season counting as a single item). Once you've hit that number, you'll have to wait until next month to get anything new, and your credits don't carry over. Until then, you can add titles to your favorites list so you won’t forget about them.
There's also the Hoopla collective daily borrow limit, which is tied to the total number of checkouts allowed by your library’s Hoopla users each day, not just your personal account. Once the library lends enough titles on Hoopla to reach their spending limit for the day, borrowing is turned off until it resets at midnight. If you have multiple library cards, you can stack your monthly borrowing allowance to check out more movies and shows.
You use Hoopla very much like you would any other library or streaming database. Just sign up on a computer at hoopladigital.com or through the Hoopla app using your library card information, and once you're logged in, you can browse or search for the content you want. Once you've checked out what you like, you can access it on your computer, phone, or tablet. The Hoopla app also has a kids' mode that will filter content to age-appropriate materials.
A beginner's guide to Kanopy
Kanopy’s catalog gives you access to over 30,000 movies, TV shows, audiobooks and more. To get started, you'll need to head to www.kanopy.com or the Kanopy app. Though you may first want to check Kanopy’s Library Search page to see if your local public or college library has an existing agreement with Kanopy. Click "Find Your Library" and if your library supports the service, all you'll need is your library card number and PIN to gain access.
Just like with Hoopla, Kanopy relies on a monthly borrowing limit rather than unlimited streaming. After signing up, you can stream up to 10 titles per month, and credits renew at the beginning of every calendar month. These credits also don't carry over if you don’t use them. Libraries often feature a rotating shelf of movies or series marked as zero tickets that don't count toward your monthly total. If you have cards from different library systems, you can add both to your Kanopy profile to combine monthly ticket allowances.
Kanopy also offers seasonal and speciality collections, like its month-long Fright Fest collection of Halloween favorites every October or holiday classics every December. It also offers Kanopy Kids for a curated collection of content for children.
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