Through Utah Tech University’s subscription to The New York Times, students have free access to all of its media until they graduate.
NYT, a daily news source based in New York, has been issuing since 1851 with “All the News That’s Fit to Print.”
“Since 1851, The New York Times has been on the ground reporting stories from around the globe that no one else was telling,” their website said. “How we tell those stories has changed, but our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world has remained constant.”
Currently, individuals can purchase digital access to the NYT for $1 a week for the first six months of their subscription. After six months, it will then increase to $6.25 a week—that’s $325 a year at that rate.
For students to access their free use of the NYT, first go to the Utah Tech library website. Then click on article databases to reach the NYT, where students will then type in their school information.
Emma Lanners, assistant librarian and open educational resources and graduate support, said she was attending a communications department meeting where the possibility of receiving an NYT subscription for students in classes was being discussed.
Lanners said previously that students, faculty and staff only had access to NYT text through a database called ProQuest US Newsstream. No videos, photos or other media were viewable through this database.
She said: “The faculty were needing the whole digital experience for the students to learn from. So, with the help of other librarians, we looked at doing a campus subscription directly with the NYT. We were able to purchase it this past year and provide that access not only to the communications faculty but all students, faculty and staff on campus.”
Lanners said with free access to NYT through the university, the campus community is able to have the full media experience NYT offers, not just the text.
Shauna Wight, associate professor of English and director of general education, said she likes using NYT in her class because it gives students access to current and well-written texts in a plethora of genres.
John Burns, associate librarian and reference and electronic resources, said newspapers are critical resources that hold research to help students become informed citizens.
Burns said: “An informed citizenry is a hallmark of a thriving democracy. It was Thomas Jefferson who said ‘A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.’ The more we know about the world around us, the more that knowledge can help us make the world a better place.”
Burns said not only do students have access to NYT, but they also have access to dozens of other newspapers in other databases—including trade publications, magazines and scholarly journals— through the library website. All students need to do is use their student ID when accessing them.
Burns and Lanners both said it is important for students to keep up with the news around them. Lanners said being up-to-date on current events is part of being a good global and local citizen.
Lanners said: “The NYT access by the UT library can provide students to another source of high-quality reporting in full multimedia. The NYT provides professional and high-quality reporting. However, it does require a subscription. One of the aspects of a library’s core mission is to provide access to resources that its community needs.”
