A reader wants the latest thriller by Stephen King.
With the swipe of a library card on a machine and the entry of the book’s row and number code on a keypad, a mechanical arm grabs the item and sends it down a small elevator onto a conveyor belt that dispenses the book like a bag of chips or can of soda.
With machines vending automobiles, electronics, neckties and even champagne and caviar, it’s not such a big leap to see libraries installing them for borrowing books and DVDs. These machines, known as “24/7 libraries” have become more relevant during the coronavirus pandemic, when library buildings closed and access to materials was non-existent or limited to digital content or curbside pickup.
The Rancho Cucamonga Public Library installed one in August, just outside the Family Resource Center at 9791 Arrow Route. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Julie Sowles, library director. Patrons can check out and return materials using the machine.
The city’s two libraries pretty much stayed open and also provided curbside delivery during pandemic. The Archibald Library closed in mid-March 2020 and reopened to in-person service in July 2020. The Paul A. Biane Library never closed its Technology Center during the pandemic, Sowles explained.
However, Sowles sensed patrons were staying away and many could not make it to the libraries because of work schedules. The answer was to augment services through contactless borrowing for those who would not or could not enter the library buildings.
“Adding options like 24/7 Library helps us better meet the needs of those individuals who prefer to use print materials rather than digital materials,” she said. “Also, there are residents unable or unwilling to come to highly populated public spaces during the pandemic.”
The machine, which cost about $160,000, is stocked with 340 items, including children’s picture books, young adult titles, best-seller fiction and non-fiction books and movie DVDs. Yes, there are Harry Potter and Star Wars selections, Sowles said. “We make sure every audience is covered,” she added.
So far, about 20 people a week are using the Rancho Cucamonga library vending machine, she said. “We are still building our base. It is still new to people.” Many tell her they are amused by the “show,” adding it reminds them of machines in amusement parks and arcades that use a claw to dispense prizes — only this one doesn’t take all their loose change.
She said the machines have been used at libraries throughout the United States but are gaining popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the San Diego County library system has installed five, while the Hemet Public Library has had a borrowing machine outside its library building at 300 E. Latham Ave. since May 2017, said Kathye Caines, Hemet’s senior librarian.
Caines has talked to Rancho Cucamonga and San Diego County librarians, offering her experience with the machine operating for four years. She said the Rancho Cucamonga 24/7 library machine is the first in San Bernardino County.
“We were closed for 15 months and that is how we continued to provide library services,” Caines said. “It is becoming more and more relevant.”
During March 2020, 13,345 books and DVDs were checked out by patrons using the 24/7 library machine in Hemet, the library reported. Even after the Hemet library reopened on May 5, 2021, with limited hours, the machine, also called the 24/7 kiosk, continues to get heavy use. Often preschool teachers pre-order books that get installed in the machine by library staff, she said.
“I’ve been told by others it was one of the smartest decisions we ever made,” Caines said.
Rancho Cucamonga would like to buy additional book dispensing machines. Sowles hopes the city can add one to a new fire station planned for the city in 2023. Another option is to locate one near senior housing.
“It is a shift in philosophy where we are not always expecting people to come to a bricks-and-mortar facility,” Sowles said.
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