Roseburg Library to add digital magazines

ROSEBURG, Ore. – Roseburg Public Library is adding digital magazines to the collection based on the recommendation of the Roseburg Library Commission.

The service is expected to launch in early July, which gives patrons plenty of time to learn about the product and get their electronic devices ready.

Folks who currently access electronic books and audiobooks using the Libby app on a mobile device or Library2Go on their computers are set to get magazines when the service goes live.

Patrons new to digital library materials will have the most flexibility if they download Libby to a tablet or smartphone. The app provides one-tap reading of magazine issues, which can be downloaded for offline use; supports subscribing to titles so new issues appear automatically on a “magazine rack” and offers a “Newsstand” feature for easier browsing.

Those who prefer to use a computer will find magazines available through library2go.overdrive.com. There won’t be as many bells and whistles using that platform, but Library Director Kris Wiley believes some users won’t mind because they prefer the larger screen.

Patrons will be able to subscribe to as many digital magazines as they wish at one time, and all publications will be available immediately. That’s right – no holds!

The library will continue to provide magazines in print format. At this time, 25 titles can be checked out with a Roseburg Public Library card.

The library recently surveyed community members about providing the digital magazine service and shared the results with the City Library Commission. Wiley noted a marked difference between respondents who completed an online survey and expressed great interest in digital magazines vs. those who completed a survey in person and were more reluctant to shift spending from print materials to accommodate the new service.

Asked if they would check out digital magazines, 42% of 97 respondents replied “yes,” 31% “no” and 26% “maybe.” When asked if they want the library to use operating funds to purchase an annual subscription for digital magazines yet fewer books, 56.5% of 83 respondents indicated “no” and 43.5% yes.

Wiley reported to the Library Commission that she and Youth Services Librarian Aurora Ropp agree the change would not negatively affect the physical collection they have been developing for five years.

In the end, Library Commission members unanimously recommended adding digital magazines because that’s another service the library is able to provide and the service fills a gap for magazine readers whose longtime favorite publications are not available in print.

Also note, the Friends of the Roseburg Public Library curate a free magazine exchange that consists of donations of titles published primarily in the past three years.

During library hours, the Friends accept donations of print magazines published in the past three years. Drop magazines off at the library front desk. Anything older than that may be recycled for free at Sisters Shredding, 193 NE Exchange Drive in Roseburg, between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In other news, the spring schedule of children’s and teen programs will conclude this month. Library staff will spend the month of May preparing for the Summer Reading Program, which begins Saturday, June 1.

Visit the library’s website at www.roseburgpubliclibrary.org, call 541-492-7050 or email library@cityofroseburg.org for more information.