A patron opens your catalog looking for something specific. Maybe it’s a cozy mystery for a long weekend, maybe it’s a graphic novel for a reluctant reader, maybe it’s a language-learning course they’ve been meaning to start. Maybe it’s even that new book they found on BookTok. What happens in that first search determines whether they find it, or whether they give up and go somewhere else.
That moment is the whole ballgame.
Libraries have spent years optimizing circulation numbers, and while circulation still matters, a circ that solves nothing for the patron isn’t really a win. The goal isn’t just getting people to check something out, it’s getting them to check out the thing they actually needed, quickly enough that the search itself never becomes a barrier.
Relevant circs build trust. They bring patrons back. Volume without relevance just adds noise to a system patrons are already navigating on limited time and patience.
This is why discovery is having a moment. Patrons have been trained by every other platform in their life to expect a search that understands them, surfaces what fits, and gets out of the way. Libraries that meet that expectation are the ones patrons keep coming back to.
Which is why it’s worth rethinking a habit some libraries have leaned on: keeping content like Hoopla tucked away outside the catalog, often as a way to manage usage or budget.
The intent makes sense, but the effect can work against the library’s own goals. When Hoopla sits behind a separate link or a different app, patrons searching the catalog never see it as an option, even when it’s the fastest, most relevant answer to what they’re looking for. They hit a dead end in the primary search and assume the library doesn’t have what they need.
Digital, Front and Center
Integrating Hoopla into the catalog flips that.
A patron searching for an audiobook, a new release, or a title from a small press they discovered through a friend finds it in the same search they were already running, right alongside everything else the library owns. No extra app, no guessing which platform holds which format. That’s what real discovery looks like from the patron’s side: one search, the right result, minimal friction.
And libraries don’t need to overhaul their systems to get there. Actions such as connecting an ILS to newer discovery tools and understanding where APIs and linked data actually help are part of a realistic next step.
The real payoff shows up in patrons who find what they came for, and who trust the library enough to come back and search again and again.
