Evolving our Digital Library: What’s New, What’s Changing

At the Boston Public Library (BPL), we’re constantly adapting our digital collections to better reflect how patrons are reading, watching, and listening today. With more people borrowing digitally than ever before, we’ve expanded our offerings and made a few important updates to ensure long-term value, equity, and access.

What's New?

We’re excited to introduce several new platforms that make it easier to access the books, magazines, music, and films you love:

Palace: An all-in-one reading app that pulls titles from multiple BPL platforms into one place, including library-exclusive content from Amazon Publishing and Audible. The Palace app gives you access to new and diverse titles beyond the usual bestsellers, helping you find the widest range of digital content and better manage holds and wait times.
Boundless: An easy-to-use app for popular eBooks and audiobooks — with shorter wait times! Boundless delivers diverse reading options across formats, languages, and interests, including a wide range of newspapers and magazines like the Boston Globe, The Economist, and the New York Times from PressReader.
Freegal: A seamless app for unlimited, ad-free music streaming. Explore more than 18 million songs across every genre, create and share playlists to discover new favorites, and download three free songs every week to add to your permanent collection. These additions are part of a broader plan to offer more content from more sources, reduce wait times, and better align with how you want to borrow and explore.

Why We're Making These Changes

We regularly review all of our resources to ensure they provide strong value, deliver a great user experience, and provide equitable access to a wide range of offerings. As part of that ongoing evaluation, the BPL has made the decision to discontinue Hoopla after September 30, 2025.

Like many libraries across the country, we’ve found that Hoopla’s pay-per-use model is no longer sustainable, especially as demand grows. Though we know many of you have enjoyed Hoopla, several factors led to this change:

High costs: The average Hoopla checkout costs more than three times that of other library resources.
Low usage: Hoopla accounts for less than 5% of all of BPL’s digital checkouts.
Overlapping content: Many titles on Hoopla are also available through other BPL digital platforms or in print.

Ending this service allows us to reinvest in exciting new digital platforms that will expand access and reduce wait times for popular titles.

Where to Go Instead

Here’s where you can find everything you need, using your BPL library card – free anytime, anywhere.

eBooks & Audiobooks

Palace: An all-in-one app (no online catalog) where you can read or listen to titles from Libby, Boundless, indie publishers, and even exclusive Amazon Publishing and Audible content. Access the library’s eBooks in one simple app through Palace.
Boundless: A user-friendly reading app for all ages.
Libby: Popular and bestselling eBooks and audiobooks.

Music

Freegal Music: Stream and download music across all genres with unlimited ad-free access.

Comics, Graphic Novels, & Manga

Comics Plus: Unlimited access to thousands of comics, manga, and graphic novels for children, teens, and adults with no holds or waitlists.

Streaming Films & Series

Kanopy: Current and classic films, educational programming, and documentaries.
Biblio+: A curated collection of independent films, global cinema, and BBC series – ad-free and unlimited.

Digital Magazines & Newspapers

Flipster: Browse magazines like The Atlantic, Time, People, and Vanity Fair.
PressReader: Access thousands of local & global newspapers and magazines in over 70 languages, including Boston Globe, New York Times, and The Economist.
Libby: Current and back-issue magazines with no waitlists, in over 19 languages.

What Happens to Hoopla?

September 30, 2025, until 5:00 p.m. is the last day to borrow new items on Hoopla using your BPL library card.
After that date, you’ll still be able to log into your account and access previously borrowed items through the end of their lending period (eBooks and comics: 21 days, music: 7 days, video: 72 hours).
Want to save your Hoopla history? Take a screenshot. Go to “My Hoopla” > “History.”

Need Help?

These updates reflect our commitment to building a more responsive, equitable, and future-ready digital library. We're excited for you to explore what’s new—and here to help every step of the way. Whether you need assistance learning a new platform or just want help finding your next favorite read, reach out:

Email us at ask@bpl.org.

Get personalized reading suggestions with Shelf Service.