(STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA / September 24, 2021) – The Oklahoma Virtual Library (OKVL) has received grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL) to continue providing a wide variety of digital magazines for another year. Many of these magazines were added to the collection last year using a grant funded by the same organizations.
Digital magazine checkouts have steadily increased since 2019. After adding new titles purchased with last year's grant funds, the OKVL started averaging more than 2000 e-magazine checkouts per month. A trend OKVL Consortium Coordinator Andrea Kane did not expect.
"We were surprised to see how many magazines were checked out," Kane said. "We're happy to provide a resource that so many of our patrons were missing."
The Oklahoma Virtual Library is a consortium comprised of more than 90 small and medium-sized libraries throughout the state that combine their resources to increase library users' access to digital materials. Kane is grateful for the OKVL's ability to provide such a large collection, which would not be possible for Stillwater Public Library to do alone.
"Due to the high cost of yearly subscriptions, libraries in our group would have a tough time paying for so many magazines on their own. We are lucky to have the consortium and grant providers like ODL and IMLS to help us provide digital resources to our patrons," Kane said.
The collection includes over 200 magazines. Some of the top circulating titles include US Weekly, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Food Network, Reader's Digest, The New Yorker, The Economist, National Geographic, New Scientist and Car and Driver.
"There really is something for everyone in the magazine collection," Kane said. "From topics like home, gardening and travel to tech, sports, politics and gaming. Readers yearning for a celebrity gossip fix have a bunch of options too."
To browse the complete list of titles, readers can go to okvirtuallibrary.overdrive.com/library/magazines or download the Libby app and click on "Magazines" from the home screen. Readers have a choice of browsing a quick list of the most popular titles or choosing the "Try Something Different" option that gives a taste of the full breadth of the more than 900 magazines available.
The Stillwater Public Library is located at 1107 S. Duck St. Library hours are Monday- Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
