Sims Memorial Library was awarded a Small Project Student Tech Fee Grant, allowing students to gain free access to Flipster. 

Friday, May 1, the library launched a pilot trial with the Tech Fee Grant to see if Flipster would be a positive addition for the university.

“The grant allowed the library to launch a year-long pilot project through Flipster, a digital popular magazine service, to determine if this is a resource our students, faculty and staff want and will use,” said Janie Branham, head of serials at Sims Memorial Library.

In the past, access for more leisure magazines were available in the library. Due to budget cuts, the library has had to maintain access to scholarly magazines for the students. 

“Up until several years ago, we were able to subscribe to a lot of popular reading magazines,” said Branham. “The kind of readings you would find on the newsstands or at the bookstores. Then with budget cuts in 2009 and ‘10, we really had to cancel most of our popular magazines so that we could keep the academic magazines needed for coursework. So this was an opportunity for us to bring back access to popular literature.”

Outside of leisure readings, Branham hopes that the popular titles can also be incorporated and used for educational purposes. 

“A lot of students incorporate popular magazines, current events into their papers, speeches, etc.,” said Branham. “So [Flipster] can be used for leisure readings and course work as well. I know one faculty member who is hoping to incorporate Flipster assignments into their class. So, I think it has a lot of possibilities. I am interested to see where it takes off and goes from here.”

The yearlong pilot will run through April 30 of next year and include 55 current titles. If the project goes well, Branham hopes to find a way to continue the service. Individuals currently enrolled or employed by the university can access Flipster from any location using a PC, laptop or mobile device. Flipster can be accessed from the library’s homepage under the “e-Journals” tab.

Questions and comments can be sent to Branham. She can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 985-549-2186. The Library’s Reference Department can be contacted at 985-549-2027 or by using the Chat Box on the library’s homepage.