Library adds downloadable magazines to collection

Utilizing the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s resources just got easier. At the beginning of February, the library released its latest service: Zinio. It enables anyone with a library card to download free magazines as soon as they hit the newsstands. 

“It’s really wonderful to be able to download magazines from the comfort of home,” says Sandy Bolek, Internet site coordinator for PLCHC. “We’re trying to meet the changing interests and needs of our customers, and there’s a tremendous interest in downloading everything out there.” 

With more than 650 titles, users will now be able to download as many magazines at a time as they wish. Plus they never have to return them. 

“I think there will be people who download maybe 20 magazines at a time, because how often can you walk into a library and have every single issue available for the taking that you can hang on to?” Bolek says. “So I expect that our interest and usage in magazines will go up significantly.” 

In the past month alone, PLCHC users have downloaded 16,396 magazines through the new service. Magazines aren’t the only downloadable materials the library offers, however. Free e-books, audio books and even music are all available to patrons as well. 

“You’re able to sit at home in your jammies at 11 at night and download music, e-books, an audio book or a magazine,” Bolek says. “We talk about being able to use the library any time, anywhere now, and I think people are increasingly expecting that in just about every service area.” 

According to Bolek, the library is on track to reach one million downloaded items by October, which is a huge accomplishment in terms of achieving its mission of “connecting people with the world of ideas and information.” 

“The nature of information has of course changed over the years and the decades," Bolek says. "Our collection has significantly expanded, but it’s still information. We’re supporting people’s reading interests, connecting them with books, connecting them with information, and the variety of ways we’ve been able to do that has really expanded.” 

Do Good: 

• Learn about Zinio, download the app for your smartphone or tablet and show your friends and family how to start downloading free magazines. 

• Sign up for a free library card so you can take advantage of the many resources the library has to offer.

• Promote literacy by joining a book club, reading to children or taking them to library events.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.