Roseburg Library offers digital magazines

ROSEBURG, Ore. – Digital magazines now are available from Roseburg Public Library.

Cardholders will have the most flexibility accessing magazines through the Libby app on their tablets or smartphones.

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.

For step-by-step assistance, a three-minute video tutorial is linked on the library’s website at www.roseburgpubliclibrary.org; click “watch a tutorial.”

Magazines also are available using a computer through library2go.overdrive.com. There are not as many bells and whistles using this platform, but readers have a zoom feature for easier reading.

To access digital magazines, patrons must have a valid Roseburg Public Library card. When logging in, select Roseburg library from the list, sign in with a 14-digit library card number and enter the password. By default, the password is the 10-digit phone number used when applying for a library card. Patrons may contact the library at 541-492-7050 or library@roseburgor.gov to have the password reset.

Patrons have unlimited access to more than 5,000 magazine titles, and they may check out or subscribe to as many titles as they wish. Magazines do not count against the limit of six holds and six checkouts for digital books and audiobooks. All magazine publications are available immediately.

Archives of some magazines are available. For example, Runner’s World, The New Yorker and Cook’s Illustrated have back issues to 2021.

Roseburg library’s magazine subscription is funded by the City of Roseburg’s operating budget, a decision made based on patron requests and the improved accessibility of magazines through OverDrive.

More and more libraries in the Oregon Digital Library Consortium, of which Roseburg is a member, are adding magazines to their collection and seeing great results.

Last year from Saturday, July 1, through Sunday, Dec. 31, digital magazines accounted for 8.6% of all checkouts in the Oregon Digital Library Consortium. From Monday, Jan. 1, through Sunday, June 30, 2024, that increased to 10.9%.

Digital audiobooks remained the most popular format in the statewide consortium last fiscal year, accounting for 50% of all circulation.

At Roseburg Public Library, digital audiobooks made up 52% and ebooks 48% of circulation. To reach this conclusion, Library Director Kris Wiley combined checkouts from both of the library’s online platforms, Libby and cloudLibrary.

Digital materials accounted for 30% of all library circulation, and Wiley said she cannot wait to see how that number changes with the addition of online magazines.

“Please reach out to the library for assistance with your digital needs. We’re here to help,” Wiley added.