Do You Read Online Newspapers on Your Own Time?

The following are answers to the question: do you read online newspapers on your own time? Reference librarians at North American public and academic libraries were asked to answer this question as part of a study of librarian reading habits.


Occasionally means occasionally, sometimes, irregularly.

I do not read newspapers online.

The only online news source I read is CNN.com. I read this only when I am interested in the latest breaking news while at work.

I do use some online sources. I do it here at the library since I don't have a computer at home. Time spent varies quite a lot, from five minutes to an hour a day.

I commute about 80 minutes per day, so I rarely know what's going on in my life.

No, no time.

I browse several online news sources every day, including Yahoo!, MSN, and ZDNet. I am able to spend about an hour a day doing this.

I regularly read USA Today and CNN.com every day.

I keep up with headlines on Yahoo.

I subscribe to an online news service that brings headlines and a paragraph to my email every day. I sometimes look at New York Times online and the Christian Monitor. I also have a weekly update sent to my email from the LA Times.

I do online reading at work. I also get the columnist from the Drudge Report.

No. In the case of breaking news I go to Yahoo! And follow news links from that site.

On occasion.

No, I don't. I might see newslines as a matter of searching the Internet.

I read at the reference desk. Usually I read the NY Times and The Telegraph from the UK.

No, I don't read online papers.

Only sometimes. When I'm on my own time, it is just that -- MY time.

I do not have a computer at home to look at newspapers online. Therefore, the only time I can do it is when I am at work. I look at the Minneapolis Tribune, CBS, ABC, and I also check the Yahoo! national news. I check each of these on a daily basis, if possible.

I don't spend much time with online newspapers, although I will periodically check them from time to time to aid students.

CNN.com for thirty minutes a week.

I do glance at headlines and read when the subject interests me. CNN, USA Today, and Washington Post for about thirty minutes a day.

I do read online at work, including the NY Times, SF Chronicle, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal, etc.

Online newspapers are most current. I have had a lot of questions answered about the current election.

Occasionally, I will visit the NY Times website for specific issues.

Mostly Access Atlanta, the Boston Globe, and others.

I will access Yahoo!'s newspage, CNN.com, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch online. I spend about 15-20 minutes per visit. I do not keep up with online news resources.

No, I have not done that.

I like USA Today and MSN News for online news. Sometimes when I am working in the back office and just want to hear some noise, I'll tune into CBC radio online, but it is hard to listen to if you're concentrating on something else.

The Wall Street Journal online.

Not on my own time, but will generally read online on library time. I read mainly Yahoo News, Salon.com, and CNN.

Reuters News Service, Drudge Report, and local newspapers.

Our library system subscribes to ProQuest, which is also available to all county residents via home Internet access. ProQuest provides us with electronic version of the NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor and LA Times. I read from these papers through ProQuest two or three days per month for perhaps two hours at a stretch, generally tracing down articles on a particular topic and tracing them across publications and time. I do this predominantly on my own time, but occasionally will do some at work (less than every month). I use CNN's web site every day, visit Reuters web site weekly, I check in on Russia Today, monthly and spend time back-reading articles. I also check out the Vladivostock News (sorry its book-marked at home so I don't know the address) on an irregular basis. For current event news I also often will go straight to the source. I've spent time reading on the Commission on Presidential Debates web site, also thomas.loc.gov, the sites for the European Union, WTO, the UN, other US Federal government sites, Catholic Information Network and the Vatican's site. I'd say I spend 5 to 10 hours per month on primary source web sites seeking current events information.

No, the only papers I read online are from my hometown and the Ithaca paper for arts/performance events. I haven't done that lately and do so only when there is a purpose or event coming up.

Yes, online plays a hug part now in the reference process. I particularly like the NY Times online, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, and USA Today for quick details of events around the country and world. Not much time though, a few hours a week and much of that at home. The Staff are very good at using what we show them. For instance, a clerk was looking up the weather in PA just now and went directly to the Internet and the Weather Channel. They are more likely to look up Health information on the Internet for patrons who have maybe looked in the catalog and can't find what they're looking for because they're aware of the health database available online to all NY libraries. But I hasten to add that this is all fairly recent in this library. It's exciting and at the same time alarming for some staff who have to shift much of their work to online! We have an ancient DOS circulation system that we hope to change to an integrated Windows-based system SOON. I think once that's installed the whole reference MO will change again. It'll be interesting!

Usually read professional journals, at home, go to web sites for various television stations in the area when news articles point to sites, and check out other library web sites for information of use.

New York Times and The Indianapolis Star.

I visit the Omaha World-Herald and the Des Moines Register sites to keep up on news from home and I visit the Journal Sentinel site daily as well. In addition, I subscribe to a statewide library group that posts links to articles from newspapers across Wisconsin that are of interest to librarians. I visit sites such as ABC News and the NY Times occasionally as well. My average time in these activities is seven hours per week. It is difficult to say how much of the time is personal and how much is for work.

I do this occasionally, typically if I am at work and there is a breaking national news story. I usually check the CNN web site or C-Span. Sometimes I also check sites such as Intellicast for radar weather information.

I find it hard to read as many screens as I can read newspapers pages, nor can I read screens as fast or as effectively.

I don't read online newspapers at home, but while I'm working on the public desk, I will frequently go to the London Times, Washington Post, and a San Francisco paper. I also check out my hometown paper, the Times-Picayune from New Orleans.

Not on my own time, but cnn.com, salon.com, latimes, and staronline.com, which is our local newspaper, at work.

Yes, I subscribe to the NY Times.

I spend less time reading online newspapers, although I feel I should be doing this. There never seems to be enough time. On average, I spend 1-2 hours per week.

Very infrequently. I have little time to explore the Net.

Absolutely not. I refuse to use any of my personal home time to help the library. I am very involved in community groups and can't help but gather knowledge through that participation and do share that knowledge at work, of course.

I electronically read the NY Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, and the read the news from the websites of ABC, CBS, NBC, and BBC.

I occasionally read the Boston Globe and the New York Times.

I have the ABC news network web site book marked as well as CNN and Salon.com. I sometimes scan them as quickly as possible and only read the major stories if I have time.

Yes, I get headlines from NY Times and I check our local TV web sites and subscribe to several networking/computer information (what's new) listservs. I spend more time with book review sites though than with current event sites. My reference questions are more often "what do I read next" or "what's a good book on the history of..." than who won the election in W. Germany last month.

I am a news junky and almost all of my extra time is used in pursuit of news in one form or another. At least 30-50 hours a week.

Yes, I read online newspapers regularly to keep up on national and world events, although I get much of my news information from web sites not affiliated with a specific paper. For example, Yahoo, CNBC, and CNN.

No, the only time I go to online newspapers is when I am answering a reference question.

I read the NY Times online every day during my morning break, and I also check updates at lunch time.

I read the New York Times.

Read three to four hours a day.

Generally not, but I do occasionally check CNN if something in particular is happening.

No, but I will occasionally track a story online, but I don't have any regular online habits.

I often access newspaper websites for patrons, but do not regularly visit them for my own use. Sometimes if I'm about to perform a search in a search engine like Yahoo, I'll see late-breaking news listed and go check it out.

No, I do not have Internet access at home and little time during work hours to read.

MSN.com, Drudge Report and CNBC.com.

Yes, I regularly browse daily domestic and global papers on the web. A most obvious example is the current election and related up-to-the-minute developments, about which we get questions at the desk.

The ones I read on my own time would include The New York Times, not regularly, but usually when something major is happening that I want more information about. I might read the Washington Post, too, and the Times, or occasionally I look at newspapers in the region or country that is involved, such as an Italian newspaper.

No, too many other duties, plus basic dislike of reading for readings sake from computer screen and tendentious from scrolling...yuk, not appealing to me at all.

Not much, but I do go online for information about a particular issue I have an interest in or I go to my local library's Infotrac database which covers papers and magazines.

I don't read online newspapers. I use the web all day at the reference desk, but I do not have favorites. I use Google quite a bit.

No, I do not and would not as I simply do not like reading for any length of time from a monitor.

Since I am from Germany, I occasionally check the websites of several German newspaper/magazines.

I don't personally, but colleagues frequently read what's on CNN.com.

No, I do not read online news sites on a regular basis. I may check every one in a while on a developing story on CNN.com, but otherwise I don't read them.

I do not use the web for current awareness at all. I can pick up all kinds of things I need better and faster from print newspapers.

go to CNN online and spend an average of 20 minutes daily.

I don't read any papers or magazines online. I am not a Salon reader.

I read NY Times, Salon, and various political papers from Newspapers.com

Yes, I read the BBC and CNN online news sites as a way of keeping up on current events. I also look at the Wall Street Journal and NY Times online for the same reason.

Not at all regularly.

If I see something interesting on the MSN website that automatically comes up, I will click into and scan it quickly. Also, if there is an issue going on that I think we need to be aware of, like the ongoing presidential thing, I will try to periodically check into local news station to see if there are any developments.

I subscribe to ABCnews.com and the NY Times online. Right now, with the primarily election in an uproar, I spend much more time, as much as an hour a day.

I regularly read the news on CNN.com, MSNBC.com, and AZCentral.com.

I receive electronic headlines from some sources and go to others on a semi-regular basis.

I really stick to CBC. I worked for them and I trust them. I find the competition lacking in depth, and like the feature articles that appear.

I frequently enjoy looking at the Electric Library site and use InfoTrac, which contains newspaper articles, too.

I peruse mainly on as needed basis, such as to further something which has come up at work. I do not regularly visit a news or current awareness site.

Only on an as needed basis. For example, during the early Bush/Gore returns, I used some news sites to get tallies and predictions.

Our homepage provides a newspage that keeps me up on local, national, and international news. If any of the stories catch my attention, I will often follow it up by searching the Internet. I often will check the Calgary Herald and occasionally the Calgary Sun online, too.

I don't particularly care for online papers.

Yes, I read the Washington Post, the Denver Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

I usually spend three or four hours a week looking at the Akron Beacon Journal.

I regularly visit MSNBC on a regular basis and like their political commentary called Slate. I also regularly visit ABC News on the web and have a local TV station's web site. I may check these every other day, but more frequently if there is an important event in the news that is unresolved.

I read CNN Online every day, probably for about a total of an hour.

Not specifically, but I do check headlines on Google and AOL and read articles that catch my eye before I go to the Internet or check my email.

I have used online newspapers but I don't find them emotionally satisfying. The habits of my life lead to my feeling mostly comfortable with a hard copy in my hands.

I have the NY Times headlines emailed to me. I scan these and print relevant articles to share with staff and public. I also email them to professional friends/associates. I visit Lithuanian websites once a week or so for background information on travel and art, and to keep up my Lithuanian reading proficiency.

Yes, I read the NY Times online daily, usually on my breaks and at lunchtime. I also read my hometown paper from New Hampshire daily.

Not on a regular basis; not frequently.

regularly. Only when researching a topic.

Yes, I spend a few hours a month doing this.

I don't care for online newspapers unless I'm using their archives for a reference question. I have several genealogy online news sources I read. They're sent directly to my email account.

Yes. I read the New York Times, Washington Post and any other local paper that is providing topical reporting on current issues. Two hours per week.

Not regularly. I do visit web sites of network stations when looking for up to date news on a particular topic, but only irregularly.

No, I haven't started reading on-line papers; only once or twice out of curiosity. I have looked at foreign newspapers, mostly for my own enjoyment.

Yes. CNN.com for 15 minutes a day.

I spend nearly my entire working day on line doing reference and ILL work. I have many opportunities to look at on-line news sources. To be honest, I do so much more frequently during baseball season, so I can check the Red Sox scores.

Yes. I read most often electronic versions of newspapers - Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, Windsor Star - on a daily basis. I spend about half an hour per day doing this.

I read the Chronicle Journal on line when I am looking for a specific article. I have not read other papers on line.

No. I don't have Internet at home, and I am usually so busy during the time I am at the library that I don't have time to do this unless I have something specific to find.

I do some reading of online news on an occasional, but irregular basis. For speed, I have sites bookmarked. I regularly visit sites on Maple Leafs, a newspaper from Eastern Europe and Advice for Investors. I spend less than one hour a week. During the present election I'm visiting the CBC Election site a lot.

I must confess that I do not read online newspapers. Occasionally, I will check our CNN or CBC's web site for current event type of information.

I look at CNN Interactive on the Internet at home, and sometimes the Yahoo! news section. I spend around one hour a week checking news on Internet sites.

CNN.com 20 minutes a day.

Yes I read online newspapers currently. I visit the following web sites frequently: www.cnn.com, www.gaylordheraldtimes.com, www.petoskeynewsreview.com, www.freep.com, and www.detnews.com.

I don't have time to read Online Newspapers at work unless I am checking on a reference question for a patron. I do not have Internet at home.

Yes. I read local newspapers online.

I do not have online access at home, so unfortunately, the answer is no.

www.al.com has newspapers from around the state. I check it daily. I also check the International Herald Tribune, New York Times, London Times, and an Atlanta paper occasionally.

I read an occasional article and scan some headlines of a former hometown newspaper most evenings, but again not so much for the library as for my own purposes, but from time to time, something proves useful at the library.

Not on a regular basis. I usually only read online papers to read about events that are occurring in my hometown. Major events are covered in the major print newspapers that I already browse.

No, I do not read many newspapers online. I click on USA Today and CNN sometimes.

I do not usually use online sources at home. I feel I spend enough time in front of a computer at work. We do have Internet access at home, but I use my home computers primarily for word-processing or bookkeeping.

No I don't often read online newspapers and magazines on my own time. Rarely, I may stay after work and read a bit online but I rarely get online at home (my son's always on the computer and I prefer to read print materials at home).

No, I don't read online papers.

I do like to peruse the online version of my hometown paper (The Buffalo (NY) News) and the Times. I generally spend about ten to fifteen minutes on each. I also check in on Layetteville, NC's site. My former library was there.

No, I do occasionally check on something that has caught my interest on work time, which is allowed if it doesn't distract from my main responsibilities.

I sometimes read online out of town papers to inform myself on a particular subject.

Generally, I only read the main local paper and occasionally the NY Times.

Sometimes but not always.

When there are breaking news stories I will look to the web for updates. Sometimes this is possible while on a reference desk also.

I don't do this on a regular basis.

No, unless I'm looking for a specific article.

I do not nor does library staff have extra time to read online newspapers, etc., except when actually looking for information online. It is important but small staff and workload do not allow for study time. However, in searching for information online, I find that in itself is a great way to learn about new sites and keep up.

From time to time, I read about world news online, with MSN or any other search engine.

Yes, I do check the CNN site once or twice a day. If the search engines I have up at the moment, be it go, yahoo, MSN or whatever, has a headline that is intriguing I make it a point to go back and check on it.

No, I generally do not read online versions. Occasionally, I access the New York Times, but not on a regular basis.

No, I do not read an online newspaper, as I simply do not have much time while I am on the reference desk. At our reference desk, the library only schedules one person on reference desk at a time.

I don't usually do it on my own, I do it at the library since that is where I spend most of my time. I visit cnn.com, msnbc.com, pbs.org, npr.org, ala.org at least every other day. I visit some other news sites less frequently: phillynews.com, washingtonpost.com, and nytimes.com I probably visit only every other week.

I try to take a daily glance through a few online versions of newspapers and other news resources as a means of keeping up with current events. These resources include The New York Times, cnn.om, msnbc.com, and our local newspaper, The Morning Call.

If there is something major happening in the news then we will generally be checking online newspapers. For example, on election day and a few days after I generally had some online newspapers up at the reference desk, and I will also check them at home. The service I use depends on the topic. I will use BBC or the Herald in England (London Herald) for news from International since I read English best. If I'm looking for something specific, such as news from Florida on the election from ethnic newspapers, then I go to the editor and publisher homepage to locate some newspapers in the geographic area. If it's local, I'll use the Oregonian's site or perhaps some of the local television stations. I also go to Yahoo a lot for news because it's so easy!

visit CNN and New York Times but not on a regular basis.

Newspapers? I look at the major news web pages ... abcnews.com, cbsnews.com, msnbc.com, and boston.com about 30-40 min/day, but off and on in-between reference questions.

I don't read newspapers online so much on a daily basis but rather on an as needed basis. Take for instance the current presidential election debacle here in the states ... I find myself checking out the Miami Herald and other Florida newspapers regularly. Also, civil unions (gay marriage) in Vermont were a hot topic this election season so I found myself visiting the two major newspapers in Vermont on a regular basis to keep up on any developments in that arena. I do not regularly consult my local or regional newspapers though unless there is a breaking news story.

Not on a regular basis. If there is something hot going on I do sometimes go online to get the latest. For example, the recent developments with the national election have caused me to go online for updates.

I like the Google, MSN, and AOL homepages for general news and the quick glimpses into the day. If I need more I access Reuters or the larger news services. I also have the home pages of the largest newspapers bookmarked to focus on news that is regionally specific.

No, but each of the librarians in the department refer to online newspapers and periodicals when appropriate in responding to reference questions (in-person, via fax, email, and telephone).

I read the local newspapers daily. (Worcester Telegram and Southbridge News) I also try to read Newsweek to keep up with current events. I'd say I spend at least an hour a day of my own time reading newspapers.

No, I don't often do so. Haven't found it convenient to read on line yet.

Many of the librarians check the AP wire site (wire.nj.com) a few times a day for reading news. This only takes a minute, two or three times a day.

Do not enjoy reading online newspapers and feel they do not add information to what is found in regular print.

No, the news web services bother me unless I am looking for something specific but I can't remember the specifics - info is usually too minimal and the links are usually abominable. To me, the computer is a work tool. It is not a medium for regular whole-issue perusal when the paper version is so much easier to remember the basics of where we saw it (sometimes even to the part of a page of XYZ publication), something that rarely happens when we are on-line. I am more apt to seek out web sites when I already have a question, whether the question comes from a patron or a written article seen on a printed page.

I use scanning devices like Yahoo News side-bars to sample or delve into articles which represent new information on ideas and events of public interest, or lead to sources I had not seen [which are then bookmarked in a topical menu for later retrieval]. I regularly review email updates from the Librarians Index to the Internet, regularly review all new interesting sites reviewed in the weekly Scout Report, have been known to skim the new sites added to Yahoo. Regularly checkout other reliable menu sites like the Open Directory Project to see what is new. A major impetus to the skimming is the inspiration from current information and reference queries.

I use Google as my home page at home so I can read about international events each time I log-on. At work, I frequently consult CNN and the local newspapers online. I have never kept track of the amount of time I spend doing this but I would guess that it amounts to no more than a half-hour per day.

No, I do not look at online newspapers.

Yes, at work I do have the PC in my office set to default to Yahoo top news stories when I open Internet Explorer.

CNN every day, salon.com, nando.net, NPR, local political county listserv, Times newspaper (England), sites especially with the elections, etc.

I choose not to read on-line newspapers. However, I do receive, through email, syndicated columnists.

I occasionally read the news online from Yahoo and CNN. I only do this when bored on duty at the Reference Desk and we are slow and do not have many patrons to service. This is rare since we are usually busy. I focus on the fields of technology, computers, world news and whatever headlines strike my fancy. I am usually a week or two behind on current events. I don't consider this a liability in my Reference work since I can locate whatever information I desire within minutes and fulfill my patrons needs.

Related Papers

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Do You Read Print Newspapers and Magazines on Your Own Time?
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Librarians and Shelf-Studying Print Collections
Librarians and Their Use of Television and Radio to Answer Reference Questions
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Has Reading Helped Librarians in Other Aspects of the Job?
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Newspapers or Magazines in Library Staff Lounges


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