Not sponsored but thank you Hoopla/local libraries!
Freelancers, hobbyists, entrepreneurs, and knowledge junkies in or out of the institutional academic path alike can benefit from the multitude of free resources that libraries offer. Signing up within a library/obtaining a library card has been facilitated with fewer stipulations and volunteers to guide future returning visitors. Like everything necessary to live, knowledge should be free and we all know traditional institutions do not guarantee anything other than a charged tuition. Careers don’t come from a school; they form from relationships.
There is an abundance of ebooks, audiobooks, music albums, movies and tv shows free to borrow or download from Hoopla. There is a “borrowing” system even though everything is digital. Your borrowed items are automatically returned so it seems there is a limit on how many users are accessing which files, which, honestly makes sense (licensing, royalties, statistics, etc.)
What have I personally borrowed from Hoopla? I’ve used it for practicing the flute! The books I long to find at garage sales and thrift stores are available online in a non-sketchy way!
There may be a surprise livestreamed concert on Catsup Magazine’s Instagram account really soon…
I’ve listened to a few audiobooks and have dipped into the flute sheet music book from Hal Leonard. I also borrowed an ebook called “Practical Web Inclusion and Accessibility” by Ashley Firth about web technology and “You Sound Like a White Girl” by Julissa Arce as the title and cultural implication drew my attention.
Careers don’t come from a school; they form from relationships.
Free to borrow flute sheet music and theory books available on Hoopla
“101 Hit Songs for Flute” by Hal Leonard Corp.
“The Flute and Flute Playing” by Theobald Boehm
“The Magic Flute” by Thomson Smillie
“The Debut Flute Teacher” by Nicola Hayden
“Latin Solo Series for Flute” by Andrew D. Gordon
“50 Pop Songs for Kids for Flute” by Various Authors
“Intermediate Studies for Developing Artists on the Flute” by Shelley Jagow
“100 Ultimate Jazz Riffs for Flute” by Andrew D. Gordon
and
“The Sceptred Flute Songs of India – The Golden Threshold, The Bird of…” by Sarojini Naidu
Okay, I may have picked out a ‘To be read pile’ that was much too big for the month… just like in real life! There are more flute books available but here are some that I found interest in.
Other digital borrows and downloads
Recently, I found a pay-to-rent movie I wanted to watch for free on Hoopla. Like a lot of media, I find out about it from clicking around and this particular Julia Louis-Dreyfus movie was fairly new (released back in May of 2023). After looking through my subscription streaming services, this movie was not available for free streaming and was like $3.99 or $4.99 to rent so it was “premium” content. As an ethical free fiend, I thought to myself, there’s gotta be a way… sure enough, Hoopla came through. Thank you, public libraries.
“You Hurt My Feelings” was a fun comedic drama to watch. Louis-Dreyfus, by the way, has an excellent podcast in which she interviews other women who have lived a large part of their full lives and retell “backstage” secrets with the shared respect of why complex, social problems remained problems for the ease of facilitating professional and personal lives.
