The cover slide below links to my presentation on how San José can utilize the technology of library material “vending machines,” which I have coined the library lending machine, or the LLMa (pronounced “llama”)!
Note: This is a completely hypothetical plan, as I do not currently work for the SJPL and therefore do not have a clear picture of the actual process/entities involved in getting such projects approved. However, the data and research presented in this slide deck are real.
@anitayjc I was so excited to see your Innovation Roadmap for the lending machines! I did a little research into them last semester for another class. A library near me has one outside the local pizza place! They are so convenient and accessible. I thought your slides about where to place them were well thought out. Having them be in walkable areas that don’t have convenient access to a branch location could allow people who may otherwise never have the time or means to visit a library access to library materials. I love that they can return items to the same machine as well, so there’s no stressing about the return process either. Also, calling them “LLMa” is so catchy for marketing too!
Thank you @jennk! Library lending machines just seem like a great way to extend the reach of the library, in a similar way to bookmobiles, which seem more common (in my experience, at least). I’m excited to see San Mateo County Library’s new Library Outposts, and hopefully similar machines at other libraries too. (Since completing this assignment, I’ve learned that SFPL also has 3 such machines!) And haha thank you for bringing up the name—I came up with LLMa because LLM is already a common abbreviation, and I thought it evoking llamas would work well because the concept of pack animals bringing books to people also reminded me of the biblioburro!