Ask a Librarian

Q: What is Flipster?

A: Flipster is an innovative digital magazine platform that allows for easy browsing of digital magazines, from Art and Design titles to general interest periodicals. You can now look through current and past issues, download your favorites, and share content with others! From your laptop, computer or phone, you can now enjoy the digital versions of many magazine titles from our specialized print magazine collection, as well as hundreds of other journal titles. For more information on how to get started, you can access this Research Guide for Flipster.

 

Q: How can I access Flipster from the ArtCenter Library website?

A: To use Flipster on your desktop computer or a laptop, go to our Online Resources page under F or use this direct link.

Log in with your Inside ArtCenter username and password and you will be taken to the Flipster site where you can browse available magazines. You can then click on a magazine to view it within your browser. This means you can access Flipster from any computer, laptop, or mobile device, as long as you are connected to the Internet.

For additional guidance, please see this video tutorial.
 

Q: How can I search for magazines in Flipster?

A: The Flipster Home screen is the default search screen and offers the ability to search for titles by keyword, as well as browse by Category, Latest Issues, and All Issues.

To create a Basic Keyword Search:

1. From the Home Screen, enter your search terms in the Find field and click Search. A Results list of magazines that match your search is displayed.

2. Click on a title or the Read This Issue icon or link to read it in the Flipster viewer.

 

Q: Do I need to create a personal account for Flipster?

A: If you want to read magazines on the desktop, you only need your ArtCenter login. However, if you want to use the mobile app and save downloaded issues, you will need to create a personal EBSCOhost account. This is how:

1. Launch Flipster from the Online Resources page under the letter F.

2. Click on Sign In link in the top right menu of the Flipster homepage.

3. Click on the Don't have an account? Create one now option on the EBSCOhost sign in page and follow the instructions. Once you set up an account, please refer to next question on how to log in from a mobile device.

4. Please note: your password must be at least 6 characters with one special character and one number.

 

Q: How can I access Flipster on my mobile phone?

A: You can read magazines via the Flipster application on your iOS or Android phone or Kindle Fire device­. You will need to create an EBSCOhost personal account in order to use the mobile app. See the information above on creating a personal account.

1. Download the Flipster app through the iTunes store for the iPad and iPhone, on the Google Play store for Android tablet, or Kindle Fire devices.
    
2. Open the Flipster app and locate ArtCenter Library among the list of libraries (tap Allow to allow nearby libraries, otherwise search for Art Center College of Design manually).
    
3. Enter your EBSCOhost personal account username and password you created and tap Log In.
    
4. Explore magazines by tapping the Magnifying Glass icon on the top right.

For additional guidance, please see this video tutorial.

 

Q: What are the main tools I can use to navigate the mobile App?

A: After you open the app, find Artcenter Library and login with your EBSCOhost personal account as described above, you will be taken to the main Explore section that displays available magazines. Use the Magnifying glass icon on the top of your screen to search for a specific title or category. Tap a cover to read a magazine. Use the Download button below a magazine cover to download that issue. It will then be added to your virtual My Shelf area, from which you can access the downloaded issues. Continue exploring by using these 3 tools on the bottom of your screen:

Explore: Use this icon to explore magazines to read or download

My Shelf: Magazines that you downloaded will be stored in this area of the app. Access the table of contents of a magazine by tapping the cover to open it, and then clicking the Menu icon on the upper right. You can flip pages by swiping left or right. You can also click on any yellow highlighted text to be taken directly to that article. 

Read: Tap this icon to return to the last issue you were reading from your shelf.

 

Q: What are the main tools I can use to navigate a Flipster magazine on a desktop?

A: In the desktop version of the Flipster viewer, browse by Categories in the left column, view the Latest Issues in the central column, or use the Search for Titles field on the top of the page and click Search. Once you find a magazine you would like to read, tap on its cover and use the menu on the top upper right to navigate:

Search: Tap Search to search the issue by keyword.

All Issues: Tap All Issues to see all available issues of your title.

Pages: Tap Pages to navigate the magazine using a thumbnail view of all pages in the issue.

Zoom: Use this feature to zoom in and out by pressing minus (-) or plus (+) buttons.

Arrows: Use these to flip through the pages.

Contents: Tap Contents to navigate the magazine using a list view table of contents.

 

Q: I don't see the print icon next to some magazine titles, are they still available for printing?

A: Those titles on Flipster that do not have the Print icon are unavailable for printing.

 

Q: Can I share a magazine from Flipster?

A: Yes, you can share search results from Flipster while using the desktop version by following these steps:

1. Log In to Flipster and Search for a magazine using its title or ISSN in the main Search window on top.

2. Once you see the results, click on the Share button on the upper right of the page.

3. Copy the link in the Use Permalink box.

4. You can now paste the copied link into a website, document or email.

 

Q: Can I download magazines from Flipster?

A: Yes, you can use the Flipster mobile application to download magazines for offline reading. Follow the instructions below for your particular device.

 

Q. How do I download a magazine to the iOS app?

A. Using the iOS Flipster app, you can search for magazines within the app and then download them.

To download issues to the app:

1. Tap the Magnifying Glass icon in the upper-right corner of the Explore screen.
2. Tap the Search field and enter your keywords, such as title, publisher, or category. As you type, Flipster displays titles related to your keywords.
3. Tap the Download icon to download an issue to your device or tap the cover to learn more about it. It will then appear in the My Shelf area on the bottom.

 

Q. How do I download a magazine to the Android app?

A. You must be online to download magazines.

To download issues to the app:

1. Using your device's browser, go to Flipster and tap on a magazine to read. The magazine opens in the mobile viewer.
2. Tap the menu in the upper lefthand corner and select Open in App. The Flipster app opens and downloads the magazine.
3. When the NEW label appears in the lower left corner of the magazine cover, the issue is available to read.
4. Tap the cover to open the magazine and the download will continue while you are reading.

 

Q: Can I download a magazine from Flipster onto my computer?

A: There is no download function for the website like in the mobile app; however, if there is a Print button, you can click on it, select Print pages in view or Print all pages. Do not click on the Print button, but instead click on the Print using the system dialog link above the Print button. (Or you could use the keyboard shortcut for printing in the browser.) Then in the Print dialog box, at the bottom left select Save as PDF from the PDF dropdown menu. The issue will be exported as a PDF to the location you choose on your computer. For printing instructions see the question below.

 

Q: How can I view magazine pages on the Flipster website and “flip” through them?

A: You can view a magazine in several layout options, from a single page at a time to a quick overview of all spreads. Use the Viewer tools in the column on the right-hand side to:

1. Search: 

Click the Search field to open the searching options. Enter your search terms in the field and use the limiters to:

-Search the current issue vs all issues.

-Search for all content vs articles only.

2. All Issues: Hover your pointer over All Issues to access all available issues of your title as well as the Table of Contents for the current issue.
3. Pages: Hover your pointer over Pages to view a layout of all spreads available in the current issue. Click on an image to go directly to that page.
4. Zoom: Click the Plus or Minus buttons to zoom in and out of the page you are viewing.
5. Page Arrows: Use the forward and back arrows to page through the current issue.

 

Print: Hover over the Print button, and select a print option, such as Print pages in view or Print all pages.  The available print options are determined by the publisher. You may be able to print a single page, a range, or none at all. To send to your printer, click on the Print button. If you would like to save a PDF version instead of printing to paper, follow the instructions in the question above. Please note: not all magazines have the print button available. If there is no Print button on the right-hand side, you can use Safari only to export a spread to PDF by opening the spread you would like to save and then File>Export to PDF. 

6. Settings
   • Show one page at a time: Select to view only one page at a time.  
   • Zoom out on page change: Select to zoom out to the full page view every time you move to another page. 
   • Fit: Select to fit the page in the viewer by height, width, or height & width.  

 

Q. Is there a limit of how many magazines I can download to the app?

A. No, you can download as many magazines as you’d like.

 

Q. Do the issues I download to the app expire?

A. Some select titles will expire and will need to be deleted from your device. These titles display an expired icon and appear grayed out when no longer available to read. Select weekly titles may expire in 2 days while select monthly or seasonal titles may expire in 7 days.

Q. How do I delete an issue?

A. Tap on the Trash icon in the lower right corner of each magazine cover to delete it.

 

Q. After an issue expires, can I download it again?

A. Yes, simply return to the Flipster main screen and re-download the magazine.

 

Q. What is the % number in the lower left corner of each cover image?

A. When you first download a magazine but haven’t read any of the contents, you’ll see a NEW label in the lower left corner of each magazine cover. Once you begin reading the magazine, the NEW label is removed and replaced with a % number that tracks how much of the magazine you’ve already read.

 

Q: Will Flipster replace our print magazine collection?

A: No, Flipster is a digital magazine platform that will supplement our 400+ print magazines. While Flipster is a digital newsstand offering online access to more than 1,300 current magazine titles, only 97 titles from our print magazine collection are available on Flipster. In addition, Flipster does not carry years of back issues available for many titles in our print collection and is not the same as the analog experience of flipping through a high-quality print magazine.

 

Q: I have feedback on this resource. How do I share it?

A: We would appreciate your feedback on this online resource. Please email our Digital Services Specialist, Christina Eilar with any comments, questions or feedback. Thank you!