Hartford Public Library’s New Feature — Digital Magazines

Do you have a Hartford Public Library card? Love magazines? Then you might just spend hours perusing this new gem of a feature that the library debuted on Monday.

There are now about 150 magazines that cardholders can download to their computer — or iPhone, Android, iPad, Kindle Fire or Blackberry Playbook — through a partnership with Zinio, a digital newsstand company based in San Francisco, and Recorded Books. Here is the library’s direct link.

The collection ranges from mainstream titles — think Newsweek, Consumer Reports, Esquire, The Economist, Rolling Stone, Forbes, National Geographic, Car & Driver, Us Weekly and ESPN The Magazine — to more niche options.  Ever wanted to subscribe to International Tattoo Art Magazine? Knitter’s Magazine? GT (Gay Times)? Mother Jones? Macworld? Vibe? All in the library’s database.

There’s also Cosmopolitan en Español and other Spanish language titles.

Mary Crean, the library’s spokeswoman, told me this afternoon that 16 people have subscribed to the magazine database since yesterday’s launch.

Hartford Public Library CEO Matthew Poland said in a statement, ”The average cost of a magazine is $4.50 and a subscription about $22 annually. With your library card, your favorite magazine is free. What’s better than that?”

Readers must use the Zinio platform. Last night I browsed Martha Stewart Living — don’t laugh — on my iPhone, which required downloading the free Zinio app. It worked fine — colors were vivid and it was easy to zoom in on text or pictures.

West Hartford Public Library also uses Zinio.

A screenshot of several of the magazines now available for download through the Hartford Public Library. About 150 titles are free for cardholders.