NY Times now free in all 1,200 California public libraries

The New York Times announced Tuesday that its content will now be offered for free in all 1,200 of California’s public libraries.

The 23 million library card holders in the state will have free access to the Times’s website by registering with their library card.

{mosads}“A library card is the best bargain around, and having free access to The New York Times makes your library card even more valuable,” Greg Lucas, California’s state librarian, said in a press release announcing the partnership. “We’re excited to partner with The Times to make an important news source available to Californians at their local library. To say nothing of the creative lesson plans in the Learning Network.”

Registered card holders will be able to access the Times either through a library computer, on their own device connected to a library’s Wi-Fi, or through the libraries’ website when accessing it remotely.

All of the Times’s digital content, as well as its archives, will be available.

“California is home to one of our biggest cohorts of readers, so we know that Californians value quality journalism that helps them understand not just the news that impacts their communities, but also what’s happening at the global level,” said Hannah Yang, head of subscription growth at The New York Times. 

The New York Times already has a “California Today” daily newsletter and a bureau based in Los Angeles.

The state-wide initiative comes as the Los Angeles Times is rapidly expanding under new ownership that purchased the publication last year.

Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong officially purchased both the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times last summer for roughly $500 million and vowed to invest in the papers’ future.