With the rise of AI reshaping how content is created, distributed and consumed, the library industry is undergoing its own rapid transformation and uncovering new opportunities and challenges.
Hoopla’s mission has always been to provide high-quality content to our library partners. Both pre- and post-AI, we have focused on curating a broadly diverse and engaging library-centric collection.
To protect the integrity of our catalog—and those of our library partners—Hoopla employs multiple strategies that both filter out unwanted low-quality AI-generated content and that help libraries identify content to determine if it meets each libraries’ standards for quality.
Data is Key
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to consistently and dependably identify all AI-generated content. At Hoopla, we are reliant on our content providers to deliver quality data with integrity.
In the absence of accurate metadata, Hoopla uses known and identified characteristics consistent with AI-generated materials to flag titles for possible review. Our content review process involves rigorous quality control, performed by our knowledgeable content teams and vendor partners when necessary.
We know that libraries operate at a higher standard than retailers, and as such, we’re working to draw attention to this issue as much as possible. This is why we strongly advocate for industry standardization in metadata, particularly in the eBook publishing space, to properly tag AI-generated titles.
While industry standards around AI eBook metadata currently do not exist, we encourage our content partners to work with their authors and creators to provide full transparency in the data for titles that are AI generated. This accurate metadata allows for efficient flagging and review of potentially low-quality content.
The digital book industry is still working to standardize best practices for publishers to attribute AI contributions within their metadata feeds. At Hoopla, we are solidifying our product data requirements to utilize preferred and currently available tagging options in those feeds.
We have made progress with some publishers’ compliance to identify AI-narrated audiobooks. We continue to work diligently with those currently unable—or unwilling—to adequately report this metadata to us, as well as publishers with eBooks generated by AI.
Aggregation distributors, specifically, provide a very high volume of self-published books that might not otherwise be available to libraries. This presents opportunity, as well as challenge.
According to Bookstat, 20% of all eBook units sold at retail in 2024 were from the Big Five publishers, while nearly 50% of eBook units sold were from independent authors. Independent publishing is finding its voice with readers, and we want this growing part of the publishing industry to have the opportunity to connect with readers in public libraries.
We actively collaborate with our digital aggregation partners to ensure they provide metadata that notes AI-generated eBooks, so we can offer transparency to our library customers.
Incoming books and media from aggregation distributors are automatically diverted to Hoopla content review for evaluation before being added to the catalog. AI-generated books that include accurate metadata are tagged and identified on MidwestTape.com for our library partners to select.
Empowering Libraries
We recently launched new content management tools that provide libraries with greater visibility and control over their digital catalog. These tools were developed in response to feedback from our library partners, aiming to enhance transparency and give libraries more control over content preferences that align with their collection policies.
We will continue to iterate and develop these industry-leading tools to assist our library partners in fulfilling their collection development policies and to empower libraries to curate the best digital collection for their community.
It is important to note that libraries may still choose to opt out of all publisher-tagged AI-generated content by contacting their sales representative.
What’s Next?
We’re working to improve predictive workflows that review and identify AI-generated books and other media to deliver content to the patron that meets the established quality standards of our library partners.
We also encourage libraries to outline a long-term vision and supporting policies, both for AI-generated content and for the rest of their digital collection. This enables your library to systemically enhance its digital offering, ensuring they remain relevant and valuable to your community.
AI is ever evolving. Whether we’re advocating with our content providers for better metadata transparency, providing libraries with improved tools, or raising awareness around the AI-related issues libraries are currently experiencing, we are dedicated to creating solutions that preserve the integrity of libraries’ digital collections.
