The Toronto Public Library is developing a book vending machine at Union Station and it should be available by the end of the year. This is the first time something like this has been done in Toronto and if its successful more units will be rolled out in the future.
The exact logistics have not been worked out yet, but there will be a number of perennial bestsellers available, in addition to DVD’s. The library also has not ruled out the ability to borrow e-books directly from the machine.
Toronto Public Library communications officer Ana-Maria Critchley said “We need to confirm details about location and reach an agreement with Union Station before we can finalize anything about the service that we will be providing, the timing or even the design of the kiosk. There aren’t many details at all that we can share at this point, simply because we don’t know yet.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
