Do your taxes or read a magazine -- which would you rather do?

by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian

We will be getting tax forms at the library.  This is the answer to a very frequent question we’ve been getting.  The fiscal cliff you heard so much about at the end of last year was resolved, at least for now, in the first days of the year when the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s compromise deal and the President signed it into law.  Once that was done, the IRS was able to create tax instructions based on the new law.  Because of this, tax season is delayed this year; it begins January 30. Various minor schedules have been arriving at the library.  We have gotten an email from the IRS saying that some of the major forms and instructions have been shipped to us.  I am hopeful that we will have them by the time you read this article.  Once we have them, we will set up a table in the library’s entry with the forms and booklets for you to take home.

After  you’ve been working on your taxes for a while, you’ll need a break.  Take a look at our brand-new magazine database, Zinio, where you can read popular magazines cover to cover on your tablet, phone, or PC.  The pages look just like they do in the print version, with photos, advertisements, and all.  Some are even enhanced with audio or video features. 

You can get to this service by going to www.pioneerland.lib.mn.us and clicking on the Zinio button.  You’ll see instructions for using it and a link to follow to get to the magazine website.  You’ll need to have an active Pioneerland library card in good standing.  To begin, you’ll set up an account with your library card number, email address, a password you create, and your name.  You’ll get a set-up email from Zinio with a link to follow. Then you’ll be able to view the titles Pioneerland offers, but to actually view the issues, you’ll also need to set up an account with Zinio.  If you follow the instructions on our website step-by-step, you shouldn’t have a problem.

You can view the issues online using your web browser, or you can download issues to your device.  Downloading may work well for those of you who do not have high-speed internet at home: bring your Kindle Fire or iPad to the library to download the latest issue of Apple Magazine or Bicycling, then read it at your leisure at home or on your vacation.

There are two differences from our e-book service that I think you’ll appreciate.  Multiple people can read issues at one time, so there’s no waiting for someone else to return the one you want.  And you never have to return them.  If you want to download an issue of Do It Yourself and keep it on your tablet for months so that you can work on the projects, you can do that.  You won’t return the magazines, but you can delete downloaded issues if you want to free up space on your device.  And as long as you have internet access, you don’t need to download them at all; you can simply view all of the magazines we subscribe to, currently 100 titles.

Back issues are not available.  All of our digital magazines will be available only from the starting date of our subscription to this service. 

Some very popular magazines are not available through Zinio because their publishers are not offering them in this format, including People and Sports Illustrated.  Newsweek is available.  It has stopped publishing in print and is only available electronically now.  Other popular magazines we offer electronically include National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Taste of Home, Reader’s Digest, and Woman’s Day. 

Come to the library to pick up your tax forms in February or afterwards.  Or come to the library website to read some fun or informative magazines. We strive to provide you the materials you want in the format you want to use.