P.E.I. library card will let Islanders read magazines online for free

The P.E.I. provincial library has launched a new digital magazine service, giving library card holders free access to dozens of popular magazines online.

Readers can sign in with their library cards anywhere on a computer, phone or tablet. The library is using a service called Flipster to subscribe to 24 titles.

"We're just dipping our toes in this, so I imagine in time we'll add more to the collection," said systems librarian Liam O'Hare.

"Because the library is a place for everybody, we tried to get titles that appeal to a variety of people. We have things for adults and for kids, and for different interests."

Titles include Wired, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, as well as Ask, National Geographic Kids, and the French-language Les Explorateurs for children.

Some titles are also offering access to back issues.

The service launched just last week, so O"Hare said the library doesn't have a good sense of how it's being used yet. He did saythat anecdotally, the reaction has been positive.

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