Academic institutions have always been gateways to greater knowledge and understanding, granting people access to whole universes of ideas and information. Incidentally, that’s also the goal of PressReader.
The platform is a digital hub for the world’s leading newspapers, magazines and eBooks, which makes it an ideal resource for students, instructors and researchers at colleges and universities around the world.
But the benefits of PressReader for academic libraries are more nuanced than just providing current news and articles. There are several features and use cases that make PressReader a favorite tool for academic librarians and the communities they serve. In this post, five academic librarians share why they get so much value from PressReader at their respective institutions.
Students actually want to use PressReader
Traditional databases for print and digital publications may have the information that students need, but the walls of plain text they tend to display information in hardly make for an engaging experience.
PressReader, on the other hand, faithfully recreates the reading experience of print publications, while enhancing them with accessibility features such as click-to-expand, text-to-speech and more. It’s a platform with the information students need, delivered in a way they want to consume it.
Plus, PressReader’s diverse catalog (more on that in a moment) allows users to read about interests and topics beyond their coursework. That’s a top priority for the staff and faculty at the University of Bath, which regularly ranks among the top 10 universities in the UK and took home a triple gold in 2023 for teaching excellence.
“Having a tool, like PressReader, that is really easy to use and visually appealing is great. We can use it not just to support teaching and research but also for so many other initiatives around well-being, equality and diversity.” — Katrin Roberts, Faculty Librarian at the University of Bath
PressReader provides diverse perspectives for more well-rounded research
The best universities widen students’ perspectives and enable researchers to approach subject matter from a range of angles and arguments – whether they’re the ones taking classes or teaching them.
This is more crucial than ever. Discourses on social media and other online platforms often default to reductive, essentialist and simplistic reasoning to drive polarizing narratives. But reality is nuanced and complex. Providing students with viewpoints from a variety of countries, contexts and cultures enhances their media literacy and their capacity to meaningfully engage with complex issues.
With a catalog of over 7,000 newspapers, magazines and eBooks from around the world — including global titles as well as smaller, local titles — available in more than 60 languages, PressReader allows students to research a topic from a variety of angles and perspectives to gain a well-rounded understanding of a topic. That’s one of the reasons why PressReader is a preferred platform for the University of the West of Scotland, whose five campuses prepare students for inspiring careers in the world’s most innovative industries.
“PressReader supports our specialized programs — from language teaching and education courses to media studies — providing relevant, real-world materials across multiple disciplines.” — Sean Hamilton, Senior Collections Librarian at the University of the West of Scotland
Faculty use PressReader just as much as students do
With PressReader, faculty members are able to assign readings that relate to their courses and demonstrate how the theoretical ideas they share in their lessons apply in practice beyond the classroom.
Along with being more directly rewarding, it’s also more fun, since the material is delivered through an engaging platform that learners already enjoy using.
Instructors can also design more compelling syllabuses by including top-tier reporting from the world’s most popular periodicals. Faculty members can easily search PressReader's catalog by keyword to yield multiple sources and perspectives on a single subject.
PressReader is a particularly useful teaching aid for faculty in the languages departments. Reading a new language in the context of newspaper articles exposes students to real-world vocabulary, sentence structure and idiomatic expressions. Plus, PressReader allows users to read an article in their target language first, then reference the material in their native language using the translation feature.
For these reasons, librarians, staff and faculty at Reichman University appreciate PressReader.
“PressReader has proven particularly valuable in supporting curriculum development across multiple disciplines. Educators regularly utilize the platform to access current affairs content, incorporating daily newspapers and popular magazines into their lesson planning materials. This integration spans a wide range of subject areas, enabling faculty to connect theoretical concepts with real-world developments and contemporary issues.” — Sigalit Adani, Library Director at The Mark Rich Library at Reichman University
PressReader's world of content helps students feel closer to home
Colleges and universities welcome students and faculty from all over the world, and some of them live far from their families and communities. With publications from more than 120 countries, PressReader can give every student a slice of home.
While this serves a sentimental purpose, it’s also practical. In many ways, the world has seldom felt as dynamic and volatile as it does today, and those who are studying or teaching abroad want to stay up-to-date with news from home.
Located in Costa Rica but attracting students from across South America, Central America, and the rest of the world, INCAE Business School recognizes the value of PressReader’s global content — both for enabling academic excellence and ensuring students feel connected to home.
“One of the main reasons we look for PressReader is to provide students access to their home countries’ newspapers and magazines so they feel a little bit closer to home.” — Jose Luis Araya, IT Director at INCAE Business School
PressReader delivers credible content
A lot has been said about today’s crisis of misinformation and disinformation, and how young people increasingly struggle to separate fact from fiction in digital media.
PressReader enables students to consume credible news and articles whenever they want, wherever they want, on the devices they’re most comfortable with. This can go a long way toward enhancing media literacy.
They also have instant access to the latest editions. Other platforms can take weeks or months to upload new issues, but newspapers and magazines are available on PressReader at the same time they’re available on store shelves and websites.
The team at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, a prominent liberal arts school in Ecuador, has seen the difference this has made for learners.
“For our journalism and law students, PressReader provides access to the world's most reputable newspapers, serving as an essential tool for media literacy and helping students distinguish reliable reporting from misinformation.” — Mariana Ciuffardi, Librarian at Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Leading institutions choose a leading platform
To discover more about how academic libraries are using PressReader to empower world-class research and improve the experience of their communities, and to get started with PressReader at your institution, click here.
