Best Practices

Beyond the Printed Newspaper

With economies around the world continuing to struggle, one could surmise that public reliance on community institutions will continue to grow in the months and years to come. "Beyond the Printed Newspaper" will touch on the opportunities digital editions of newspapers provide libraries at a time when many consumers continue to look for cost effective alternatives. In part 1 of this 2 part series, we will examine why individuals looking to discover more about their local communities have the potential to do so at their local library branches.

A quick look at the numbers

According to a December 2009 study published by the American Library Association on the condition of US libraries, the number of in-person public library visits rose to 12.7M in 2009 from 9.1M in 2006 and the remote access to libraries (from home, work or school) doubled. While the study maintains the full impact of the 2008 economic downturn, “…is difficult to articulate and the data challenging to assemble,” the numbers suggest patrons are increasingly leaning on their local libraries for services such as access to licensed databases, digital references, digitized collections, etc.

Despite the many misconceptions regarding the diminishing need for public libraries, particularly with information so readily available over the internet, the report went on to articulate, “…that data reported by libraries regarding visits paints a very different picture.”

Newspapers are highly valued source for community information

With individuals turning to their local public libraries now more than ever, opportunities exist to promote digital services that may have remained underutilized or unknown.

A recent Pew Research Center study conducted in September 2011 discovered that 50% of adults read newspapers or go to newspaper sites at least weekly to get local information. In fact, newspapers and newspaper websites rank first as the source people rely on most for 11 of the 16 key topics examined—mainly civically-oriented articles related to local government, taxes and zoning.

While newspaper websites do provide an overview of the latest local and community news, full digital replicas of printed editions provide readers with a much more complete perspective feeding the hunger for quality journalism and in-depth information on community events, crime, taxes, local government, arts and culture, social services, zoning and development.

Next month, "Beyond the Printed Newspaper" will explore how digital editions of newspapers allow readers to gain a global perspective on the world’s current political climate, from liberation in the Middle East to the Occupy movement in the North America and the rest of the world. 

Library PressDisplay, a standard at over 3,000 libraries worldwide, is the largest online newspaper and magazine kiosk in the world, offering instant access to over 2,000 full-content publications from 95 countries. For more information and your free trial, please e-mail NewspaperDirect at libraries@newspaperdirect.com.