Part of the joy of reading magazines, as opposed to books and journals, are the inventive cover designs and enthralling double spread images contained within the pages. The physical appeal of magazines, combined with engaging topical content, is perhaps why many readers and institutions are so proud of their large and growing collections of archived issues. But what about those collections which are missing a few issues? Or those archives which have outlived several generations of readers? It can be a laborious process hunting down a print copy of a magazine issue which hasn’t been printed for 30 years.
Luckily for these readers, the aesthetics of the print version can naturally move on to the digital platform, particularly with the technological development of better screens which now elucidate every minuscule detail of the original. Not only that, but archives can now be preserved ad finitum with no risk of decay or misplacement. This means that a wide audience of readers can experience these archives in their entirety, whereas in the past those old issues may have been confined to dust-gathering shelves in library vaults. Because of digital preservation, these archived issues can be given a new lease of life, finding new readers many decades after they were first published. In an academic sense, the availability of archives opens up new windows of opportunity for researchers by facilitating quick, easy and reliable access to previously rare resources.
A key question for digital providers must be — how do we present these resources to the world? One neat approach is to use a Stacking Interface to organise the archive by decade and year. This system encourages the reader to observe the development of the cover design (an essential feature of any successful magazine) through the years. The Stacking Technology also offers users an elegant and intuitive interface for browsing through older issues, especially when combined with an intelligent search feature. For example, a reader may wish to search Geographical for coverage of deforestation in Brazil, but only in 1994, and the Stacking Technology will automatically narrow the search results. This technology transcends devices and is available on Web, iOS and Android platforms. The power this offers to academics goes without saying; fast, efficient research in a friendly format.
What does this mean for digital magazine providers? As more and more magazines recognise the value and importance of their archive, it is likely there will be continual drive towards digitisation. Print publishers will be searching for the best way to present their backfile to the world. The Stacking Interface has already found many supporters in both publishing and academic circles as it offers a dynamic combination of utility and style. Stacks are a great way of organising deep and informative archives, and because of the periodical nature of magazines they will only continue to become more impressive.
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