Adults

Celebrate Women’s History Month with Gale!

March is Women’s History Month and if you’re looking for an educational, passive activity to share with your patrons, then Gale has got you covered with a themed scavenger hunt. 

Patrons can search the Gale in Context: World History database for the answers to a five-question quiz. Along the way, participants will explore a wide breadth of information and practice their research skills. Gale offers information in a variety of formats ranging from images to academic journals, and this scavenger hunt highlights the database’s offerings.  

To add a bit of extra fun, consider offering an incentive to those who complete the scavenger hunt, such as a bookmark or small treat. If patrons inquire, Gale has included an answer sheet for the scavenger hunt. 

-Erin Weaver, Bridgeville Public Library 

Continue ReadingCelebrate Women’s History Month with Gale!

Popular Magazine Title Leaving OverDrive

FYI —

OverDrive recently released an update regarding required digital lending model changes for The Economist in the OverDrive Magazines Collection.

According to the update, the new requirements would restrict lending period access to only 24-hours and prohibit a reader who wants to access the same issue from borrowing it again remotely. For a reader to continue access to the issue, they must visit the library to renew access. 

OverDrive has decided not to implement this new lending model. As a result, all editions of The Economist will be removed from OverDrive Magazine collections effective February 1, 2023. The last issue available for readers to borrow will be January 28, 2023. All back issues will also be removed from collections on February 1. 

While this news will come as a disappointment for many library users, OverDrive continues to add new magazines to the collection regularly, including most recently, Fortune. Additionally, Allegheny County Library patrons have access to nearly 100 popular and in-demand digital magazine titles with the hoopla Magazine BingePass collection.

– Richelle at Sewickley Public Library

Continue ReadingPopular Magazine Title Leaving OverDrive

Goodbye, Flipster

In September, the Digital Resources Committee announced that Allegheny County Libraries’ subscription to the eMagazine service Flipster would not be renewed and that on December 31st, 2022, this service will disappear. 

Some patrons may take issue with Flipster disappearing, so if that occurs, here are some talking points. 

  • Usage for Flipster has decreased over the years while circulation numbers for Overdrive and Hoopla have risen.  
  • Public libraries have limited resources. 
  • Flipster offers limited access to latest/back issues and the app is limited when it comes to accessibility features. 

There will still be plenty of options available for magazine lovers. In fact, Overdrive offers thousands of options to choose from and Hoopla’s growing collection can be accessed with a single borrow as part of its BingePass program.

-Erin Weaver, Bridgeville Public Library

Continue ReadingGoodbye, Flipster

Farewell, Flipster

I am writing this to inform the staff that the digital magazine subscription service Flipster will be ending in Allegheny County libraries on December 31, 2022. Once an innovative forerunner in the digital magazine game, Flipster has begun to show its age, outshined by relative newcomers Overdrive and hoopla. Before we announce anything to patrons, we wanted to take the time to explain why we are sunsetting Flipster.

Considering budgetary restraints and service overlap, the Digital Resources Committee (DRC) conducted a thorough review of all three big names in digital magazines: Flipster, Overdrive, and hoopla. It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a shot in the arm for digital access. With the dust starting to settle on the pandemic (or at least settle into the dreaded “new normal”), a re-evaluation of digital services was necessary. While looking at each provider, we considered several factors: usage, cost, user experience, authority/company reputation, accessibility, content availability, vendor service and administration, and mobile functionality. Each committee member took the time to independently evaluate these services with these criteria, and lo and behold: a consensus formed prior to discussion.

On all fronts, Flipster was coming up short. The final scores were: Flipster, 161; hoopla, 226, and Overdrive, 244. We found Flipster lagging on a number of important factors: missing latest editions, buggy/hard-to-use interface, limited back-issue access, and little name recognition. In addition, since the start of 2020, Flipster’s circulation decreased, an obvious red flag during an explosion of digital access and use. For these reasons, Flipster is the weakest link and a redundancy with both Overdrive and hoopla available to patrons.

Some patrons may take issue with the passing of trusty old Flipster, and we should be prepared. We would recommend citing some of the reasons above, particularly accessibility and latest-/back-issue access. We have found two effective methods:

  1. Citing public libraries’ limited resources (pretty hard for folks to argue with this one)
  2. Redirecting patrons to our remaining services (hoopla and Overdrive)

Two other important things to note: we will be making a separate announcement for the public later this quarter, and if any library has a direct link to Flipster on their website, please add a notice after October 1 that the service will be discontinued after Dec 31, 2022.

If you have any issues, concerns, complaints, or pretty pictures to send to the DRC, you can direct them to the co-chairs of the DRC: Hilary Lewis at lewislacknerh@carnegielibrary.org or Richelle Klug at klugr@sewickleylibrary.org or if you have any questions about this specific article/email, email me at smithc2@coopersiegelcommunitylibrary.org.

Continue ReadingFarewell, Flipster