Archive | Digital Materials RSS feed for this section

Zinio: A New Way to Access Magazines

12 Mar

Magazines have always been my favorite media to consume.

When I was a kid my grandma would give me $5 to go to the Quik Check up the street from her house, which I used to buy magazines like Bop or 16 or YM, and a Whatchamacallit candy bar.

Back in college I interned at Seventeen magazine, a cool experience that was not at all similar to The Devil Wears Prada.

Today I still like to buy and collect magazines.

Image

My home magazine collection.

Over the years I’ve purchased and subscribed to many magazines (mostly fashion, entertainment, and travel titles) to the point that they would accumulate because I didn’t have time to read them all. It was not uncommon to see stacks of magazines on my coffee table at home.

Image

The Hoboken Public Library has over 120 titles in its magazine collection, and I can (and do) borrow as many magazines as I wish. This has helped significantly cut down on the coffee table clutter.

But now the library offers Zinio, an online service that offers full color digital magazines to borrow using your library card. Zinio has over 130 titles in its collection.

The easiest way to access Zinio is from the banner on the Hoboken Public Library’s homepage. To start borrowing magazines, you’ll need to enter your library card number and then create an account on Zinio. You can search for magazines by title, or browse by categories.

Some titles that are not in the library’s physical magazine collection that can be borrowed through Zinio are:

  • Architectural Record
  • Road & Track
  • Owl
  • Knitter’s Magazine
  • OK! Magazine
  • Parent & Child
  • Saveur
  • Games
  • Organic Gardening
  • Shape
  • Woodcraft Magazine
  • Dwell
  • Town & Country
  • Men’s Fitness
  • Guitar Player
  • Newsweek
  • The American Spectator
  • Field & Stream
  • Outdoor Life
  • Mental Floss
  • Golf
  • National Geographic Traveler
  • Nylon

Magazines borrowed from Zinio can be viewed on your computer or tablet and on your smartphone. I usually access Zinio through the Zinio app on my iPhone. (An Android version of the app is also available.) What I like best about Zinio is that there is no due date to return magazines–you can keep them for as long as you like. This appeals to my magazine-hoarder tendencies.

See this link for more information on accessing Zinio. Contact the Reference Department at (201) 420-2347 or at hobkref@bccls.org if you have any additional questions.

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

Tags: ,

24/7 Reference Resources: Gale Virtual Reference Library

28 Feb

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Suddenly your child or teen remembers they have a report due the next day and they need to find reliable information from a reference book, but it is too late to head out to the library.  Maybe you would like to do some research on a health or legal issue, but you don’t want to have to trek through the rain or snow on your lunch break.  With the Gale Virtual Reference Library, you have access to reliable information from your workplace, your own home, your child’s school or anywhere you are.

All you need is an internet connection and your library card and you will have access to encyclopedias and other reference works on literature, business, history, medicine, science, and more!  Reference resources are typically non-circulating and cannot be borrowed through interlibrary loan, but with the Gale Virtual Reference Library you have 24/7 access to them from any internet connected device.  Like most of our digital resources, the Gale Virtual Reference Library is available from within the library without a library card.

The collection includes works that are geared towards older children, teens and adults.  For those researching Black History Month this February the collection includes African American Eras, African American Almanac, Contemporary Black Biography, African American Literature, and more.  For those needing to provide source information for academic papers, there are examples of both MLA and APA formats to help assist you in citations.  You are able to search for topics or browse by subject guides.  You can use the article toolbar to print, e-mail and download articles to an HTML or PDF file.  Also you can download an mp3 of the article, and download articles for use with an eReader.

Teachers can create Gale Bookmarks for their students to access a specific article or link to a reading list.

Of course even if you are not doing research, you are encouraged to browse the collection.  History buffs will enjoy reading about American and World History.  For literature lovers like me you can browse through and learn more about your favorite authors and poets.  Whatever your area of interest or research need, you may enjoy taking a peek at what our library’s virtual collection has to offer.

There is a Youtube video on using the resource here.

If you have any questions about accessing the Gale Virtual Reference Library, contact the Reference Department at 201-420-2347, or by email at hobkref@bccls.org.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

Tags: ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →