• 24% growth in unique PressReader users in the last year.
• 37% increase in issues opened compared to the previous year.
• New patrons joining the library specifically for free magazine and newspaper access.
• Reduced staff admin time and no more juggling individual magazine licenses.
• A modernized digital offering that “sells itself” once patrons hear it’s free.

Northumberland Libraries serves a large, widely distributed county with 30 branches and one mobile library. Its population includes many older residents and younger digital-first users, with high demand for reliable reading options both in-library and remotely.

Before PressReader, Northumberland Libraries relied on a mix of physical newspapers and a small selection of digital magazines sourced individually through a digital service. Tight budgets and limited licenses meant they could only offer around 20 digital magazines at a time. Patrons frequently had to wait for physical copies, while staff had to make careful, sometimes risky choices about which digital titles to purchase. One wrong guess could mean wasted budget and disappointed readers.

Then came the pandemic. As buildings closed and digital usage soared, the library needed a sustainable way to offer modern reading options to everyone — including residents spread across rural Northumberland.

At the same time, the emerging cost-of-living crisis made magazines and newspapers a luxury many couldn’t justify. Long-standing library members were relying on the library for affordable access. But the existing model wasn’t built for that demand.

More importantly, the team recognized that patrons needed more than the same local titles they had always borrowed. Language students and globally-minded readers wanted access to international publications, while others wanted the option to access their favorite titles from home. With staff capacity and budgets stretched thin, the library also needed a tool that was easy to manage and promote.

Northumberland Libraries chose PressReader for four clear reasons:

1. A sustainable content ecosystem
The library system can now offer much more news and magazine content in real time, without having to worry about distribution, for a fraction of the cost.

2. Unlimited access to thousands of titles
Instead of paying for ~20 digital magazines with caps and limited licenses, the library now offers every patron full access to PressReader’s entire catalog of thousands of newspapers, magazines and ebooks.

“You don’t need to say much more than ‘there are all these newspapers and magazines for free,” says Fiona Corbett, Digital Resources Officer at Northumberland Libraries. “PressReader sells itself.”

3. Seamless access across devices
Patrons can read PressReader on Hublet tablets in-library, on their own devices and using offsite access, which now drives the majority of usage. The data backs it up: over six months, offsite access counted for 6.5 million article opens compared to 109,400 onsite. Plus, patrons have highlighted how easy PressReader is to use.

4. A global collection
Though Northumberland is predominantly English-speaking, language students and globally curious residents regularly browse international publications — from U.S. papers to European titles — for enrichment and different perspectives.

Since adopting PressReader, Northumberland Libraries has seen sustained growth in digital engagement. Readers are embracing the ability to access newspapers and magazines from home, on the go or inside their local branch.

“Since the pandemic, digital usage has continued to rise,” says Corbett. This reflects a long-term shift in how patrons prefer to read.

The data tells the story clearly:

• 24% year-over-year increase in unique PressReader users from 2024 to 2025
• 37% increase in issues opened compared to the previous year during the same period

Most notably, the vast majority of PressReader usage happens offsite, showing just how important this resource has become for residents living across Northumberland’s widely distributed communities. Digital access is a core service that helps patrons stay informed and connected, regardless of how often they visit a physical branch.

PressReader has also helped the library attract new members who might not have considered joining before. According to Corbett, “several patrons have shared that they discovered PressReader through library events or digital promotional materials and were thrilled to learn about everything they could access for free with their library card.” For many, especially during the cost-of-living crisis, unlimited digital reading has offered both financial relief and meaningful support for wellbeing.

And for staff, PressReader has reduced the administrative burden of managing individual digital magazine licenses, freeing them from guesswork and allowing them to focus on patron support.

Edinburgh Libraries is a vibrant public library service with 28 branches spread across the city, serving over two million patrons annually. Offering a wide range of books, digital resources and community programs, the libraries provide essential services to support learning, creativity, and connection for residents and visitors alike.

Edinburgh Libraries struggled to provide equitable newspaper access due to limited funding, language barriers, uneven distribution across branches, and reliance on just 10 print titles, prompting digital-services development leader Susan Varga to seek a new solution.

By partnering with PressReader, Edinburgh Libraries found a cost-effective way to modernize and expand its digital offerings. Here’s how:

Before switching to PressReader, Edinburgh Libraries faced a number of issues when it came to bringing patrons the news they needed:

• Limited global news coverage: The library system struggled to provide international news coverage, and many patrons could not access news that reflected their global interests. They were also unable to obtain newspapers and magazines from outside their local area.
• Inadequate language offerings: The narrow range of languages on offer was not meeting the linguistic needs of Edinburgh’s diverse community, which impacted the library’s ability to serve all patrons effectively.
• Restricted range of titles: With only up to 10 different titles available, and the widest variety found in the Central Library, patrons were unable to access varied news and entertainment sources.
• Financial inefficiency: The costs of acquiring and preserving print editions of periodicals and dailies strained an already restricted budget.
• Circulation limitations: The non-circulation policy for print editions of newspapers and magazines hindered accessibility for patrons with mobility challenges or those confined to their residences.

PressReader’s all-you-can-read digital platform enriches curious minds by providing access to thousands of global publications in dozens of languages.

PressReader effectively tackled Edinburgh Libraries’ most significant challenges by:

• Offering a wider content range: Providing access to local and international news, ensuring users of all backgrounds, languages, and interests find engaging content.
• Making more languages available: Catering to diverse communities by offering materials in multiple languages, creating a more inclusive library experience.
• Providing access to thousands of titles: Expanding the library’s collection from a handful of titles to thousands, offering users unparalleled variety in news and entertainment.
• Enabling cost savings and simplicity: Reducing operational costs and simplifying management by replacing multiple subscriptions and physical materials with a single digital solution.

Edinburgh Libraries successfully enhanced their offering digitally through PressReader, achieving significant financial savings and increased user engagement. This shift highlights the library’s commitment to embracing digital innovation as part of its core strategy.

• Cost savings: The transition to PressReader resulted in an 80-90% reduction in costs associated with physical newspaper and magazine distribution.
• High engagement: In 2023, over 3.2 million downloads were made through PressReader, far surpassing the 400,000 downloads from other e-platforms combined.
• Enhanced accessibility: The digital platform reinforced Edinburgh Libraries’ role as a vital community resource, making content more accessible to diverse users.
• Strategic value: PressReader has become a cornerstone of the library’s digital strategy, demonstrating its effectiveness and appeal.

“We want to expand the walls of the library… and make it easier for people — it’s all about access, really, and that’s what public libraries are about, you know. [PressReader] delivered it perfectly.” — Susan Varga

Edinburgh Libraries’ partnership with PressReader has revolutionized how they deliver news and magazines, making their services more inclusive, accessible and efficient. The ease and value of PressReader allowed the library to continue serving its community effectively, even as financial constraints grew, making the service a key part of Edinburgh Libraries’ long-term vision.

The University of Bath, a top-ranked institution in the historic city of Bath, combines world-class teaching, cutting-edge research, and strong industry connections to empower students. Its libraries serve as vibrant hubs for learning and community, fostering academic success and well-being.

Katrin Roberts is the Faculty Librarian for Humanities & Social Sciences, and she supports the Department of Economics and the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies as a Subject Librarian.

The University of Bath Library encountered challenges with print media due to limited accessibility and language diversity, as well as logistical difficulties. These issues hindered its ability to fully support teaching, research, and leisure reading.

By partnering with PressReader, University of Bath Library found a cost-effective solution that enhanced the user experience and strengthened the library’s role within the campus community. Here’s how:

The library faced a number of issues:

• Inadequate language offerings: The collection lacked diversity in foreign languages, failing to meet the needs of linguistically diverse faculty and students.
• Limited access: Managed only 28 newspaper subscriptions with a single print copy of each, restricting availability for users.
• Logistical issues: Purchasing, storing and maintaining print editions strained budgets and resources, diverting time from user support.
• Subpar user experience: An online news database addressed some challenges but offered a less immersive, text-based experience, leading to declining usage rates.
• Reduced effectiveness: These limitations hindered the library’s ability to effectively support teaching, research and leisure reading.

PressReader’s all-you-can-read digital platform enriches curious minds by providing access to thousands of global publications in dozens of languages.

• Increased usage and engagement: Higher reading rates across the library, driving greater value and significantly lowering the cost per use compared to other services.
• Enhanced user support: Simplified access to a wide range of content, enabling the library to better meet the needs of students, staff and researchers.
• Strengthened community connection: Reinforced the library’s role as a central hub for the faculty and broader university community.
• Wellbeing and inclusivity initiatives: Supported programs promoting physical and mental wellbeing, inclusivity, diversity and equality.
• Broader relevance: Addressed not just academic needs but also users’ broader interests and personal wellbeing.

PressReader transformed the University of Bath Library into a more effective and engaging resource, increasing usage rates while supporting both academic pursuits and personal wellbeing. The platform broadened access to global perspectives, strengthened connections with users, and solidified the library’s central role in the university community.

• Expanded global perspectives: Access to thousands of global publications allows students and educators to stay informed and explore diverse viewpoints.
• Multilingual content: Supports language learning by providing publications in multiple languages, enhancing comprehension and cultural understanding.
• Connection to homeland: Enables international students and staff to stay updated with news from their home countries.
• Deeper topic exploration: Users can perform keyword searches to access multiple perspectives on a single topic, enriching research and understanding.
• Support for wellbeing and leisure: Offers access to a wide range of magazines and newspapers, from niche interests like gaming or food to casual leisure reading, which the library wouldn’t typically stock.

By adopting PressReader, the University of Bath Library overcame the challenges of limited access, language diversity, and logistical inefficiencies associated with print media. The platform significantly enhanced the library’s ability to support academic pursuits, promote wellbeing, and connect with its diverse community. As a result, the library has strengthened its role as a central hub, supporting faculty, students and the wider campus community in new ways.

At The Ritz-Carlton Montreal, excellence is a tradition.

Opening its doors in 1912 as the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in North America, it set a new standard for luxury accommodations in Canada. Known for its blend of historic elegance and modern amenities, the hotel has hosted numerous celebrities and dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill.

As Louis-Phillipe (LP), Director of Rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Montreal, told us, however, even the finest establishments need to find ways to elevate their service. When staff were spending so much of their time delivering newspapers and magazines that it took their focus away from other opportunities to delight guests, LP knew there had to be a better way.

By partnering with PressReader, The Ritz-Carlton Montreal transformed its approach to guest satisfaction, creating a more efficient and sustainable experience for both guests and staff.  Here’s how:

The Ritz-Carlton Montreal faced significant inefficiencies in handling print media for guests. LP outlined the labor-intensive process:

1. Guests’ preferences: Recording guests’ choices for newspapers and magazines, including preferred languages.
2. Sorting & tagging: Staff sorted materials, bagged them, and tagged items for delivery to specific rooms.
3. Room delivery: Bellmen delivered newspapers to up to 129 rooms at guest-specified times.
4. Waste management: Staff collected discarded papers and paid recycling costs based on weight.
5. Cost monitoring: Staff tracked and managed costs for subscription maintenance and renewals.

This process had some major negative impacts:

• High costs: Expenses included subscriptions, bellmen commissions, and recycling fees.
• Time drain: Staff spent significant time on print media logistics, detracting from their ability to enhance other aspects of the guest experience.

The hotel sought a streamlined solution to save time, reduce costs, and delight its diverse clientele with an effortless way to access their preferred news.

With PressReader, guests enjoy instant access to a global library of high-quality newspapers and magazines in their preferred languages — right on their own devices.

No accounts, passwords or hassle: PressReader delivers a seamless reading experience, perfectly aligned with luxury service standards.

PressReader seamlessly integrates into any luxury hotel’s offerings, meeting—and exceeding—the expectations of a discerning international clientele.

Guests have access to thousands of publications from around the world, ensuring something for everyone.

By transitioning to PressReader, you empower your staff to shift its focus from tedious tasks to delivering unforgettable moments.

• Improved guest satisfaction through tailored, convenient access to global content.
• Streamlined operations, allowing staff to focus on personalized service.
• A significant reduction in environmental impact through the elimination of physical newspapers.

Going digital eliminated the need for Ritz-Carlton Montreal staff to source, purchase, distribute and recycle print newspapers.

Reclaiming an hour per day allowed staff to focus on meaningful guest interactions and revenue-generating activities.

Switching to PressReader reduced paper waste and eliminated the logistics of physical newspaper delivery.

This aligned with The Ritz-Carlton’s sustainability initiatives and commitment to environmental responsibility.

PressReader is now an indispensable part of The Ritz-Carlton Montreal’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability — helping redefine luxury in the digital age.

• Challenge: Latymer Upper School faced some challenges with traditional newspapers and magazines; they weren’t as easy to access and didn’t quite spark interest. Terri McCargar recognized the need for a more comprehensive, inclusive and modernized approach to their resource management. She also identified the need for more global content and multilingual offerings to cater to their diverse student body.
• Solution: The school made a strategic shift to digital newspapers and magazines via PressReader, simplifying access and boosting engagement for educational purposes. This, in turn, enriched the learning experience and fostered cultural exploration, all while reducing costs and improving sustainability.
• Results: The integration of PressReader led to a significant expansion of global content access, making educational resources more diverse and engaging. The school saved about 15% in resource costs and modernized its approach to learning. PressReader became a key tool in offering a more inclusive and comprehensive educational experience.

Based in London, Latymer Upper School, an independent and co-educational secondary school for academically thriving students, has made a name for itself as a leader in education. The school’s head librarian, Terri McCargar, sources and maintains a diverse collection of print and electronic resources. Terri is also responsible for helping students navigate these resources to enhance the school’s teaching and learning experience.

Before PressReader, Latymer Upper School provided its students and teachers with newspapers and magazines in traditional print. It also subscribed to academic research tools carrying news. As the school’s academic needs evolved, it became clear that their existing resources—largely print media and traditional digital tools—were inadequate. The primary issues included:

• Limited access to diverse, engaging content:

While the school had invested in various online subscriptions to newspaper archives and journal databases, these platforms were primarily designed for academic research and lacked user-friendly browsing features. The databases also had many limitations when it came to accessing current content. The other more browsable options were often costly and lacked the breadth and depth of content required.

The school’s resources were also insufficient for engaging with current international events and perspectives, a crucial aspect of a well-rounded education. Similarly, with a multicultural student body, the lack of resources in various languages was a significant barrier, particularly for students engaged in language learning and cultural studies.

• Limitations of print:

The daily deliveries of print newspapers to the school’s library created logistical hurdles and raised environmental concerns by generating paper waste. Access to the publications was also limited for students and staff, as copies were few, could not be simultaneously used, and were often taken home by individuals.

• Financial inefficiencies:

The cost of maintaining print subscriptions, considering their limited accessibility and usage, was becoming unsustainable for the school’s budget.

The need for a modern, inclusive and cost-effective solution became obvious.

The turning point came when Terri discovered PressReader.

PressReader offered a comprehensive range of digital resources, supporting teaching and learning across the curriculum. Terri was particularly impressed with the breadth of content available in multiple languages on PressReader, seeing it as a crucial tool to meet the school’s diverse needs.

Terri recalls the moment of discovery saying,

“I was in contact with many other librarians, and I came across PressReader through a list circulating among them. It mentioned that most public libraries in the UK subscribe to PressReader, and the feedback was exceptional. When I heard about it through JCS, I thought this could be a game changer.”

Terri’s excitement for PressReader stemmed not just from its practicality but from its potential to bring about positive change within the school.

“I saw its benefits for both the staff and the students, solving numerous issues we had faced with print materials,”

Terri emphasized.

This pivotal moment marked the beginning of a new era for Latymer Upper School, one where the digital resource would take the spotlight, opening a gateway to a wealth of content from around the globe that caters to diverse tastes and preferences.

PressReader emerged as the comprehensive solution to the challenges faced in the pre-PressReader era at Latymer school by:

• Enhancing content availability and accessibility:

• Facilitating multilingual and cultural learning:

The adoption of PressReader greatly benefited the school’s multicultural student body, offering a wide range of content in multiple languages. Terri highlights this advantage, “We’re quite a multicultural school with people from all over Europe and from North America. When we got PressReader, some of the support staff exclaimed—oh my gosh, you have these newspapers in Swedish, for example. They were so happy.”

• Cost efficiency and sustainable resource usage:

PressReader not only provided a broader range of educational materials but also did so in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. Terri describes the financial benefits, “Subscription to PressReader has saved us money. Having replaced staffroom newspaper deliveries, our subscription costs less than having print delivered daily in term time.

• Modernizing the learning experience:

The introduction of PressReader marked a shift towards a more modern and interactive learning environment. Terri praised the platform’s user-friendly interface: “Unlike other news databases primarily designed for searching individual articles, PressReader offers an engaging browsing experience. It is very intuitive, allowing you to view the news in its original print/screen layout, complete with all the images and advertisements.

The adoption of PressReader by Latymer Upper School stands as a significant milestone in the school’s commitment to innovation and academic excellence. PressReader’s integration not only resolved the challenges of print media but also opened new avenues for learning, making education more dynamic and accessible.

This is evident from PressReader’s impact:

• “PressReader has helped us save around 15% in cost annually, says Terri. These funds could now be allocated towards other educational initiatives.
• The partnership with PressReader has broadened the range of newspapers and magazines available to Latymer Upper School, moving from an initial selection of 15 subscriptions to over 8,000 titles. This increase in readily accessible content has catered well to the varied interests of both teachers and students, leading to over 1,100 unique publications being actively read. As a result, the school has observed a marked improvement in the accessibility of newspapers and magazines for the entire school community, aligning closely with its educational goals and diverse needs.

The decision to integrate PressReader at Latymer Upper School represents a significant stride forward in the institution’s commitment to providing a modern, diverse and accessible educational resource environment. The PressReader platform has not only addressed the initial challenges faced by the school but has also set a new standard in the efficient and effective management of educational resources.