The Patron Borrows Report is your library’s backstage pass to understanding how patrons actually engage with digital content, taking the mystery out of the process.

With a clear, data-rich view into borrowing activity across Instant, Instant Bundles, and Flex, the report links usage, true cost, and patron experience into one convenient, easy-to-read package. This helps your library unravel the complexity of how borrowing activity connects to spending and access decisions. 

Report overview: flexible, actionable data 

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all report.

Your library can explore borrowing data using standard time frames or create customized ranges to research specific user tendencies. Filters make it easy to focus on borrow type or format, and everything can be downloaded as CSV and PDF files for easy sharing and collaborating.

Consortium users get even more flexibility, with the ability to focus on member-level data. Visual comparisons between time periods make it easy to spot changes in usage and engagement, so trends don’t hide in spreadsheets.

Borrowing activity and trends: who’s borrowing what (and how often) 

This section is where borrowing behavior really starts to tell a story. It combines overall activity with trend views to show how many patrons are borrowing and how they interact with the collection. Your library can see both unique patrons and total borrows, broken out by Instant, Instant Bundles, and Flex.

Trend comparisons help reveal how engagement changes when patrons have access to one borrow type versus multiple options. The result? Clear patterns that highlight which models drive deeper, more sustained usage as well as which models deliver the most value for your library. 

Costs, utilization, and value: following the money (wisely) 

Clarity matters, especially when budgets are involved.  

The Patron Borrows Report ties borrowing directly to cost, giving your library a clear view of value and efficiency. Metrics like true cost per circulation and cost per patron appear across Instant, Instant Bundles, and Flex at both current and full utilization levels, alongside average utilization rates, allowing your library to see where you stand today—and where there may be room to grow. 

Annual cost charts show how spending evolves over time. Models like Hoopla Instant Bundles provide an additional option to reduce cost per circulation and prove that smart access strategies can stretch budgets further without sacrificing service.

Patron impact: access, limits, and the real user experience

Data is powerful, but patrons are the point.  

By combining Borrowing Insights with Patron Experience metrics, this section shows how borrowing limits, budget caps, and policies affect real people.  

Patron-level views add valuable context so your library can see how many patrons hit borrowing limits and monthly budget caps, how often access is blocked, and how tools like Bonus Borrows and Flex reduce frustration and keep readers, listeners, and learners connected, even after limits are reached. 

In short: fewer dead ends, smoother access. 

Turning insights into decisions that matter 

The Patron Borrows Report brings the true cost into focus, helping your library balance it with patron satisfaction without juggling spreadsheets or relying on gut instinct.  

The report supports informed conversations by transparently delivering the math that allows your library to make apples-to-apples comparisons with other platforms about borrowing models, budget configurations, and equity of access. This empowers your library to align digital strategy with actual community behavior.  

When data and patrons agree, that’s where meaningful impact happens.