Libraries short on cash, parking and staff are looking at self-service options to reach customers during off hours without adding work for employees.
Tucked into vending machines or train station lockers, robolibraries allow patrons to pick up or drop off DVDs and books at their convenience during a time when many suburban libraries are cutting operating hours.
Others might take the form of kiosks that serve nearly the same function as satellite branches and can allow patrons to access books, movies, videos, music, audio books, games or anything else the library lends.
Think of these as Redboxes for readers.
The La Grange Public Library is conducting an online survey of residents to see if they are interested in self-service options such as lockers or vending-style machines that would be placed at sites other than the library.
Tight parking at the La Grange library’s downtown location and a desire to improve convenience for patrons are behind the move to gauge patron interest in self-service options.
“We’re looking at how people can access physical materials without coming to the library,” said library director Jeannie Dilger-Hill.
A self-service DVD dispenser that holds up to 3,700 selections was installed in 2009 at the Rakow branch of the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin. Voters approved a $4 million referendum in 2000 to build the branch, but rejected the ballot question for operating expenses. The branch is closed on Fridays, so officials sought ways to serve patrons without opening its doors.
Having a DVD dispenser helps the 10,000-square-foot library branch operate with a staff of one full-time person and nine part-timers.
“We’re known as a library that’s out there (in terms of innovation),” library spokesperson Denise Raleigh said. “We’re always looking for ways to save money and still provide compelling service.”
At 71 inches by 38 inches, the machine also takes up a lot less floor space than a traditional DVD section would, she said.
People use their library cards and make selections from a computer touch screen on the machine or from their home computer. The library had 6,538 checkouts from the machine in January, and 5,849 in February. The highest number of checkouts for the last fiscal year was 7,813 in July 2011, Raleigh said.
In La Grange, librarian Dilger-Hill said they want to get public input before investing in a machine that can cost $15,000 to $150,000, depending on what it offers. They would need to raise funds to make such a purchase, she said.
Eva Poole, president-elect of the Public Library Association, said she sees robolibraries as part of what people expect today from their libraries.
“People don’t want to be limited by time or location,” Poole said. “It’s instant gratification. They want to get it when they want it.”
