09/02/2026
Garland Public Libraries will stop stocking print magazines and most print newspapers on Oct. 1 and move to online access, the city announced on its page. Magazines will be available through Libby and newspapers through PressReader, both free with a Garland library card.
A library employee said they plan to transition from PressReader to NewsBank by the end of the year, as The Dallas Morning News is only offered via NewsBank. Until then, the Morning News will stay on the shelf, the city said, “while we work to provide a digital option”.
The city framed the change as routine collection management. As the way residents get news changes, the notice said, the library reviews its collections to make sure it is “providing resources that best meet the needs of our community”. Staff at any branch will help patrons set up the apps.
The carve-out for The Dallas Morning News has a specific cause: PressReader stopped supplying digital editions of the paper to libraries on May 1 of this year. Two other area systems that hit the same wall, Carrollton Public Library and the Highland Park Library, moved their Dallas Morning News access to NewsBank, a different vendor. Garland does not currently list NewsBank among its online resources, though they expect to have access by the end of the year.
The change is part of a larger realignment of resources. The library also discontinued access to hoopla, Kanopy and Universal Class. A notice says the decision “allows us to protect core library services,” that hoopla ended Aug. 31, and that end dates for the other three would be announced later.
Voters will decide the city’s tax rate on Nov. 3. Under the alternate budget the city would implement if the rate fails, library materials are among the roughly $7 million in services that come out. The city has not connected the periodicals decision to either the budget or the election, and described it only as a collections review. The library system is not shrinking on other fronts: it opened the West Garland Library on West Walnut Street, funded by the 2019 bond.
The move away from print magazines and newspapers follows an ongoing long-term decline in print readership as many newspapers move to a digital-first model (say, a digital-only online local newspaper… that’s not such a bad idea).
For readers who make the switch, digital magazines check out for seven or 21 days, can be renewed, have no holds or waiting lists, and do not count against the 10-item checkout limit. PressReader carries papers from more than 100 countries in 60 languages and will translate an article into more than 16.
The Central Library, near downtown Garland, is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. The North Garland, South Garland and West Garland branches open at noon Tuesday and Thursday and close at 8 p.m., open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and are closed Sunday and Monday.
Any branch can set up Libby and PressReader on a phone, tablet or laptop, and the library’s site hosts video tutorials for both. The number for Library Services is 972-205-2500. Residents do not need a library card to continue reading The Richardson-Garland Herald.
