NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Public Library has introduced the first library vending machine in the region. Housed in NORD’s Desire / Florida Multi-Service Center, the vending machine allows library card holders to check out materials from a collection of over 200 books and DVDs for free.
Located at 3250 Industry St., visitors can access the library’s satellite location during the NORD facility’s operating hours. Users must have a physical Library card to access the vending machine collection.
City Librarian and Executive Director Emily Painton said the vending machine is one way the library is expanding their services to areas without a neighborhood Library location.
“One of the core pillars of our 10-year strategic plan to create a library lifestyle for all New Orleanians is to open doors through reimagining our spaces, which is exactly what this collaboration with NORD allows us to do,” said Painton. “We’d love to have a Library location in every neighborhood in the city, but by putting technology like this in an underserved area, we’re removing an immediate barrier to accessing our services.”
The vending machine’s collection features titles for children, teens and adults, including popular movies like Disney’s “Encanto,” and “Moana,” and best-selling novels like “Mexican Gothic,” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” by Sarah Maas.
Community members are invited to a free party to explore the space and learn how to use the vending machine on Saturday, Nov. 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will feature a robot-themed storytime, demonstrations on checking out and returning materials, library card sign-ups, book giveaways, and free snoballs and nachos provided by the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library.
Attendees will also get the opportunity to help choose a name to bestow upon the vending machine. Visit the library’s website, nolalibrary.org for details.
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