http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/2835576,CST-NWS-redbox26.article
”It would be bestsellers, DVDs and popular items, just like our popular library. You’d put your library card in, select an item, it comes out and you’d return it back to the same place or to any one of our libraries,” Dempsey said.
”Some of these vending machines store up to a hundred items. Some of them store more than that. . . . This is just another way to get materials into the hands of the public. It’s a new product, and we’re talking with our colleagues in other cities to see how it’s working for them. We’re just making sure it works well and that we have the funding to do it.”
Dempsey noted that the 245-square-foot library in the Water Works Building in the Water Tower Pumping Station, 163 E. Pearson, “out-circulates many branch” libraries after one year of operations.
The one commenter worries about cost in our current economic climate but my mind jumps to what CPL might stock the machines with when many popular items are digital. Yes – many years out..but not too distant.
Thanks to Andrea Tillander for the link.