Newspapers are free

Scrolling through Facebook, news articles pop up everywhere. Social media is becoming a primary source for news.

But what’s wrong with that? The articles are free, they seem to be legitimate, and they are only one click away. The problem: the websites they lead to often have one-sided, biased articles that may or may not have correct information.

These news sources are right at a person’s fingertips and therefore the ones students are likely to click on. The goal of the Castleton University library, however, is to provide students and faculty with some reliable sources at the same level of availability.

The library webpage offers free online subscriptions to the Rutland Herald and the New York Times, as well as a subscription to Lexis Nexis, an online database that provides news from all over the world.

Library Director Sandy Duling said she is very pleased that they are able to offer these luxuries to students.

”I worry about people getting their news from sources that filter it, like Facebook. They’re not getting the full spectrum, which is very important. I’m glad we’re able to provide students with free news because I don’t think they’ll want to pay for it,” Duling said.

The Rutland Herald subscription has been available for years, but the New York Times was just added this summer. There are ways to monitor how many students use the papers, but the figures are not out yet.

Though all of this is free and available to students, some are simply still not interested in reading the news.

Theater graduate student Eric Monzel is one of those.

“That kind of stuff isn’t what I need to read. I need to read things about theater,” Monzel said.

While the Rutland Herald is only available to use on campus, the New York Times can be read anywhere on the globe once a Castleton student has registered.

Duling mentioned that the subscriptions will mainly be used by a small percent of the students, but she’s glad they are able to offer them to those few.

Sophomore Joey Cava is one of those few.

“I actually just finished a project using the library sources. It’s great because most professors count it as a primary source. And all the archives are available for the New York Times, so you can go all the way back to the early 1900’s. I think it’s really awesome,” Cava said.

Nicole Rainville, a senior criminal justice major was unaware of the available subscriptions, but will be using them now.

“Yeah, I’m excited now! I love reading the news,” Rainville said.

Though there will always be people who choose not to read the news, the Castleton University library is happy to offer it free to those who do.

“It’s possible,” Duling said.

 

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