Print

Hartford Public Library Boasts New Collection — Digital Magazines

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE

January 08, 2013

HARTFORD — — The Hartford Public Library's collection now features about 150 digital magazines that library cardholders can download for free to their computer, iPhone, Android or e-reader, such as the iPad.

Launched on Monday, the library's partnership with Zinio, a digital newsstand company based in San Francisco, and Recorded Books is another step toward increasing the number of materials that can be accessed online, 24 hours a day, library officials said.

The magazine collection ranges from mainstream publications — Newsweek, Consumer Reports, Esquire, The Economist, Rolling Stone and National Geographic, for example — to more niche options and Spanish language titles, including Cosmopolitan en Español. Readers may also download the magazines to a Kindle Fire or Blackberry Playbook tablet.

By Tuesday afternoon, 16 people had subscribed to the magazine database, said Mary Crean, the library's spokeswoman.

"Anytime we can promote reading and dreaming and hoping ... then we're up for it," Crean said. "Not everyone might want to look at a book, but they might read a magazine."

Mother Jones, Car and Driver, Us Weekly, Macworld, Food Network Magazine, Vibe and Reader's Digest are among the digital options. Others include Vegetarian Times, Urban Ink, ESPN The Magazine, Popular Photography, Runner's World, GT (Gay Times) and The Hockey News.

The library can add more titles from Zinio's large database if people express interest in specific magazines, said Matthew Poland, chief executive officer for Hartford Public Library. "This is just the beginning for us."

And possibly in the next month, Poland said, the library is planning to add the IndieFlix streaming movie service. The additions come as more cardholders download the library's online books, he said.

Hartford Public Library has an estimated 57,000 cardholders, a figure that increases about 5 percent each quarter, officials said Tuesday.

The West Hartford Public Library also offers digital magazines through Zinio.