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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- As technology develops and the gradual trend towards digital material continues to grow, the Ottumwa Public Library is keeping up with every step.

The library announced Wednesday that patrons will now be able to download and view 81 different magazines the library currently offers in hardcopies. They can be downloaded to any device, such as a tablet or e-reader, or on a regular computer, and the full magazine is available, so there is no loss of content.

Library Director Sonja Ferrell said the library began thinking about the switch when Newsweek discontinued hard copies of their publication. The digital copies have several advantages, including no due dates and no limit to how many people can access a certain magazine at any given time.

For those who still prefer the nostalgia of holding a magazine in their hand, the hardcopies will still be available.

"What I wanted to emphasize to the public, too, is that we are not quitting any of our subscriptions to our hardcover magazines because there's always going to be an audience for that that prefers the old way," Ferrell said. "[This] is all just in addition to that. So the only subscription we have lost in our hard copy is Newsweek,  and that's because they don't have them any more."

To see a full list of magazines available to download, click here. To sign up for the service, click here.

Ferrell said anyone with questions or needing help getting signed up can contact the library. The program also offers a help guide.