Libraries have very convenient hours compared to most banks or municipal institutions, but they still can't serve a 24 hour society.
Obviously, staffing such hours would be problematic. However, would a vending machine apparatus to dispense, say, hold books or a self-service kiosk for printing ILL journal articles or other reference material (subject to local laws) be a pragmatic move to serve patrons at all hours?
jonsca
I like that idea. It works for video stores - a DVD kiosk for popular titles. A library one would be more complicated but it could work. I wonder if something of this sort exists.
For the ILL part/reference material: if it could be made available at a kiosk for printing, couldn't it be made available online? NYPL provides a variety of reference resources online with a library card.
Our library has 24/7 external lockers at two locations which have so far proven popular. Holds can be requested to be checked out and put in the lockers. Patrons are then emailed a key code to enter that will open their specific lockers and have until opening the next day to get it.
Lockers can be requested online for specific items or by phone. Filled on a request by request basis until all lockers are full. Lockers are around post office box size so some require multiple lockers.
At the library where I work now, there are "24-hour hold" lockers accessible from the outside of the building. A patron can request that an item be placed in one of those lockers, which is assigned a random PIN code that we give the patron. The item is then checked out to the patron and placed in the locker, from which the patron can retrieve it at any time up until the PIN expires (usually 72 hours, I think).
While we don't advertise it, this service sees a small but steady volume of usage. It is, however, much more work than the standard holds process. I have seen this service offered at many other libraries in the area; I presume that the process is substantially similar and sees enough usage to justify implementing and continuing.
We looked at adding the lockers to our two existing branches. Two stand-alone locker units with 13 compartments each was about \$13,800 from the least expensive of two vendors, but this number did not include shipping or installation, which would have run to as much as \$7000 more. The management timewise for filling and emptying added additional daily costs. And then there is maintenance when it breaks down (or purchase of a maintenance contract). In the end, it seemed a too-expensive service for us to consider, as we anticipated usage of only a few lockers per night.
Two companies that offer the lockers:
http://www.americanlocker.com/
I have seen where some libraries have installed these at shopping malls or other convenient locations instead of building an additional branch in a farflung location. It requires a courier to refill it, but otherwise it is unattended.
We've been using vending machine libraries for a while. The Brodart Lending Library is now sold through PIKInc (public information kiosk inc.) we have had great success bringing access to rural areas where they wouldn't have had any access to books at all. We've also used them in job centers to complement the job resources with resume writing, interviewing skills, and other job prep materials. We are currently in the process of adding two more machines one outside an existing library.
The advantages are the 24/7 access to materials, and the ability to have 300 titles available at any time. I joke that we could take on Redbox if we wanted to.
The setbacks are that you don't have as wide a selection as you would have a normal library. You don't have the collection, the computers, the space, the programs or the onsite librarians that are really key. It can't replace a library branch, but it can plant the seed to build one.
we have a LibDispenser for the reserve texts for our management school (we closed the branch in the building, but wanted to be sure that the reserve texts were still available to students). we had some issues with downtime at first (textbooks are larger and thicker than a lot of other titles, so the machine needed to be calibrated often), but in general the students are happy not to have to leave the building to get their reserve texts.