Library offers digital magazines

Access free on digital devices to Laman Library members

— Laman Library patrons are now able to thumb page by page through national magazines without paying for subscriptions or making trips to the library or newsstands to buy them.

North Little Rock’s public library has begun an association with Zinio for Libraries that provides free access to numerous digital magazines through personal computers, Macs or mobile devices - such as smart phones, iPads or Kindle Fires.

Zinio bills itself as the “world’s largest newsstand,” and its availability to Laman Library patrons is through a partnership with RBdigital from Recorded Books, advertised as the world’s largest independent producer of audiobooks.

The materials accessible are full digital copies of current and limited back issues of news, entertainment, sports and specialty magazines, with the same material seen in print editions. Full-color photos and even video clips and links are viewable.

The free service is accessible to anyone with a Laman Library card, also free. Library cards are available to any Pulaski County resident who signs up for both a library and Zinio account through the library’s website, lamanlibrary.org. Signup details are available on the website.

“Once it’s set up, it’s free,” said Dan Noble, the library’s public-relations manager, adding that individual magazine subscriptions aren’t needed. “It’s a service we wanted to offer to the community. It’s an investment we’re making into the community.”

Laman Library is independent from the Central Arkansas Library System based in Little Rock. Laman Library has 23,528 active cardholders, according to Noble.

Laman Library is the only library in the state to offer the Zinio service as of Dec. 1, though a few are doing trials to add it later, according to a representative for Recorded Books.

Libraries often subscribe to magazines and offer them to patrons to read. The periodicals cannot be checked out, and if someone is reading the magazine that a patron wants, he has to wait until the other person finishes with it.

The new system will allow better access.

“This way patrons can download a digital magazine and keep it as long as they like,” said Richard Theilig, Laman Library’s digital media services manager. “It works for PCs, Macs, iPhones, a wide range of devices.

“Patrons can select which magazine issue they want to look at and download it,” he added. “It’s just as if you’re reading the print magazine.”

A user can go page by page through a digital magazine, Theilig said, or use the table of contents and go directly to a desired article.

Noble said the library’s new service allows Pulaski County residents to “come get a library card, and the subscription is on us.”

The service has been available through the Laman Library for about 60 days, but Theilig said he first wanted library staff members to try it out and see what questions they came up with before, widely publicizing it for patrons.

“They would have the same kind of questions our patrons would have,” Theilig said of staff members trying out the service. “Before we turned it loose on people, we wanted to be sure it would not be a horribly difficult service to use. It’s not. It’s incredibly simple.”

There are 164 magazines available through the Laman Library service, with more to be added as the program grows, Theilig said.

The service also allows the library to track magazine use to determine “which ones our patrons are most interested in.”

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/10/2012

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