[Michlib-l] Fwd: A message from Jeff Jankowski

Mon Feb 28 07:33:58 EST 2022

Good Morning, 

Last week I forwarded a copy of the below linked article to our contacts at vendor partners OverDrive and Midwest Tape/Hoopla. 

Below is the response from Hoopla/Midwest Tape. 

OverDrive has yet to reply. If/when they do I will share it with you. 

[ https://libraryfreedom.medium.com/we-demand-accountability-from-hoopla-digital-and-overdrive-regarding-the-platforming-of-fascist-c47c88e62ddc | https://libraryfreedom.medium.com/we-demand-accountability-from-hoopla-digital-and-overdrive-regarding-the-platforming-of-fascist-c47c88e62ddc ] 

Jim 

Jim Flury 
Technical Services Manager 
The Library Network 
41365 Vincenti Court 
Novi, MI 48375 
248-536-3100, ext 133 
Fax 248-536-3098 
jflury at tln.lib.mi.us 

From: "James Gonzalez" <JGonzalez at midwesttapes.com> 
To: "Jim Flury" <jflury at tln.lib.mi.us> 
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2022 3:38:18 PM 
Subject: FW: A message from Jeff Jankowski 

Hi Jim, 

Thank you in being so gracious in sharing that article earlier this week. I wanted to make sure you saw this letter that just came out to all our existing hoopla partners by our President, Jeff Jankowski. This way you stay informed on how we addressed this challenge. 

Have a great weekend! 

James 

From: hoopla Digital < newsletters at ehoopladigital.com > 
Sent: Friday, February 25 , 2022 3:25 PM 
To: James Gonzalez < JGonzalez at midwesttapes.com > 
Subject: A message from Jeff Jankowski 

This Message originated outside your organization. 

Good afternoon, 

We were recently contacted about a series of complaints related to a limited number of hoopla digital eBooks found on the platform by a group of Librarians. These titles are holocaust denial books and/or promote an ideology of hate. The presence of these titles has raised questions from some of these Librarians about hoopla’s collection policies and I want to make sure, as a valued hoopla Library partner, you are well informed. To those who reached out regarding these titles—thank you. We appreciate you sharing your comments and opinions. 

We have removed these eBooks from hoopla 
These eBooks are inaccurate and sources of propaganda that have no place in the hoopla Instant collection. My team has removed the titles from our platform. I apologize for any difficulties their inclusion may have caused you, your staff, or cardholders. Please know we have already started evolving our collection development and content review policies, including a new email address for reporting any title of concern ( [ mailto:contentfeedback at hoopladigital.com | contentfeedback at hoopladigital.com ] ). 

How these titles made it onto hoopla 
The titles from these five independent publishers came to us from our network of more than 18,000 unique publishers. They were added within the most recent twelve months and, unfortunately, they made it through our protocols that include both human and system-driven reviews and screening. As a result, we have taken immediate steps to improve our process. 

This is a complex matter 
Due to the hateful nature of these specific titles, I have no regrets about having our team remove them from hoopla. Despite my personal objections to these eBooks, I must acknowledge that this situation highlights a complex issue that Libraries have always faced in curating their collections—avoiding a culture of censorship. Just as Libraries receive challenges on items in their physical collections, we receive challenges on individual titles. We review those concerns and make the best decisions we can for the overall hoopla community. 

We strive to empower every Library 
In the event a Library encounters a title they wish to block from their hoopla collection, they are able to easily do this within their hoopla dashboard. For any Library needing assistance, please reach out to your hoopla support specialist and they will be happy to either assist you or block the title for you. 

We believe access to large and varied collections is essential for Libraries 
Offering a robust digital collection of quality content with an intuitive patron experience is essential for each Library and their community. We believe that representative collections must include titles from publishers both large and small. 

Thank you and know we will continue to listen and evolve 
I am genuinely thankful for your partnership and for the ongoing collaboration with all of our Librarians that has been critical since the inception of hoopla digital. You have my commitment and that of our team that we will indeed continue to advance our product and services and always welcome your feedback. 

Sincerely, 

Jeff Jankowski 

President, Midwest Tape 

Founder, hoopla digital 

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