Looking for a 2 a.m. library fix? Milwaukee to debut 24-hour vending

 

 

by: Don Walker

The Milwaukee library system plans to install an Express Vending Library (similar to the one shown) near the Westlawn housing project. The machine, one of a handful in the country, will provide library materials 24 hours a day through self-service technology. The library can hold 400 items.

 

It's much bigger than the Redbox at the grocery store, and more educational.

Milwaukee is getting an Express Vending Library, a 24-hour machine that will serve the residents of Westlawn and surrounding neighborhoods, perhaps as soon as next month.

The unit, to be anchored near the corner of N. 64th St. and W. Silver Spring Drive, will be one of a handful of vending libraries in the country. In addition to Milwaukee, units are scheduled to go up in Oklahoma City, San Diego and Fresno, Calif.

While the units are relatively new to the United States, there are thousands of them scattered throughout China, Milwaukee library officials say.

The machine can't hold the content of your average branch library, but it is big enough to store 400 items. Librarians know their patrons, so the machine will be stocked with books, music CDs and functional materials of interest to neighborhood residents.

The vending library is accessed through a patron's library card. Patrons will have their card scanned, then they can peruse the collection inside, pick something out and walk away with a good book or a music CD. Users will be able to return the item at the same location. The library also allows patrons to request holds on library materials and pick them up later.

The new system is a collaboration between the Milwaukee Public Library and the Housing Authority, which operates the Westlawn public housing development.

Paul Williams, a Housing Authority spokesman, said providing library resources was a key element in the redevelopment of Westlawn. In addition to giving residents access to educational, health care and neighborhood resources, planners wanted to make sure library materials were part of the equation.

"The Express Vending Library was a solution," Williams said. "It fits with the modern nature of the new housing, and it's a way to bring an efficient resource to the neighborhood without the expense of a full library."

Brooke VandeBerg, a library spokeswoman, said trying out the vending library was part of the system's strategic plan. "We were looking for an opportunity to implement this type of model," she said.

Bruce Gay, the library's technical service and collections director, said it was fair to compare the glass-faced, silver-painted vending library with the popular Redbox.

"There will be a touch-screen," he said. "Residents will be able to see the spines of items. And there will be three carousels that can be rotated. They can search for items on the screen. The mechanism is pretty simple."

Gay said librarians focused on providing materials people want to read.

"We will have a lot of materials on employment resources, how to write a résumé, how to get a GED kind of book. Our librarians are pretty good at knowing what people want," he said.

The unit has cameras for security. One will cover the front of the unit. Another camera will be like the ones installed at ATMs. The signals will be beamed back to the library.

VandeBerg said officials hope to have the library in place by Nov. 18. If the vendor, EnvisionWare, can't meet the deadline, library officials may wait to install the unit next spring.

And this being Wisconsin, library officials were sure to ask the vendor if the vending library can withstand bitter cold.

"All the way down to 20 below," VandeBerg said.

from: Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel