Library to Loan Over 5,500 New Titles to Mobile Users

Today we are pleased to announce that we have partnered with two digital content distribution services to add more than 5,500 new digital magazines, comic books, manga, and graphic novels to the Forsyth County Public Library eLibrary collection.

Both services, Flipster and Comics Plus, launched on Wednesday, September 3. Patrons can now access the services from computers in any FCPL branch, or from their own Internet-connected computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

Flipster provides a selection of 40 popular weekly and monthly magazines for adult readers, such as Time, Money, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, and People. Patrons can browse and checkout magazines by visiting www.forsythpl.org, clicking eLibrary, and then clicking the Flipster icon or they can download the Flipster app for iPad or iPad Mini. An app for Android devices is expected to be released later this year.

“Print magazines have always been very popular with our patrons, and in the past few years, more and more magazine publishers have been ceasing publication on some traditional magazines, and going to a digital-only model.  We felt that now is the right time to introduce this digital format to our patrons,” says Linda Kelly, Assistant Director for Materials Services.

Comics Plus will offer over 5,500 comic book, manga, and graphic novels for younger readers, ages 5 to 13+, including Geronimo Stilton, Sonic the Hedgehog, Archie, Big Nate, Ninjago, Naruto, Dragon Ball, and Classics Illustrated. Like Flipster, Library patrons can check out materials from the Comics Plus collection by visiting the eLibrary on www.forsythpl.org.

The popularity of graphic novels in print form has grown tremendously at the Library, says Kelly.

“At times, we can’t keep enough of them on the shelves to meet the appetites of these voracious young readers,” Kelly notes. “So, adding a service that allows these patrons to stream their favorite materials from virtually any computer or mobile device is a good strategy to encourage them to keep reading.”

Both of these new eLibrary services include automatic expirations and returns, so patrons won’t have to worry about late fees. When the borrowing period ends, the title will simply disappear from the patron’s account. Patrons may log back into their Library account for Flipster or Comics Plus to check out the item again, if additional reading time is needed.