[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto library to roll out book-lending machine at Union Station"
The Toronto Star's Tara Deschamps reports on the Toronto library service's interesting experiment.
The Toronto Public Library hopes to roll out a book-lending machine at Union Station by the end of the year. If it’s successful, more could be on their way.
The move is a novel idea aimed at making the library more accessible to Torontonians and broadening the number of users, which sits around 18.5 million annually.
“You aren’t expecting a library presence in Union Station, so it will be a convenient way for commuters to access library content,” said Ana-Maria Critchley, the library’s manager of stakeholder relations.
Because the organization is still seeking vendors to take on the project and working with stakeholders at Union Station to choose a spot for it, she said the machine’s exact functions have yet to be determined.
However, a library report earlier this year said initial planning for the kiosk “focussed on access to high demand books and DVDs,” but “may be adjusted to incorporate downloading e-books.”
The Toronto Public Library hopes to roll out a book-lending machine at Union Station by the end of the year. If it’s successful, more could be on their way.
The move is a novel idea aimed at making the library more accessible to Torontonians and broadening the number of users, which sits around 18.5 million annually.
“You aren’t expecting a library presence in Union Station, so it will be a convenient way for commuters to access library content,” said Ana-Maria Critchley, the library’s manager of stakeholder relations.
Because the organization is still seeking vendors to take on the project and working with stakeholders at Union Station to choose a spot for it, she said the machine’s exact functions have yet to be determined.
However, a library report earlier this year said initial planning for the kiosk “focussed on access to high demand books and DVDs,” but “may be adjusted to incorporate downloading e-books.”