OWL BOX: CONNECTICUT LIBRARY DISPENSES BOOKS VIA VENDING MACHINES

Dick Johnson writes:

The Oliver Wolcott Library was awarded a $25,000 Praxair Foundations grant and a $11,500 Seherr-Thoss Foundations grant for their project called “OWL Box”, an outreach lending machine which is essentially a vending machine filled with books, audio books, and DVDs.

“We will be the first library in Connecticut to offer this new innovative service. We are very excited about this opportunity to reach out to the residents of Bantam as well as others who may find it hard to get to the OWL during normal business hours” said Ann Marie White, Library Director.

The OWL Box will provide 24/7 access to books, audio books, and DVDs. The OWL Box acts like a vending machine where patrons from any town may insert their library card, make selections, and the item drops down for patrons to take home. Any patron in good standing with a valid library card may use the machine. Items will be rotated at least once a week, and selections will be fine-tuned based on what circulates the most.

“The OWL Box responds to the busy life of working adults and families. If it's 6 a.m. and you're heading to New York City, you can stop at the OWL Box to pick up an audio book for the drive. If it's 6pm on Sunday and you suddenly have a sick child at home, you can stop by for a DVD or a picture book for bedtime” White said.

To read the complete article, see: OWL awarded $36,500 in grants for outreach to Bantam (www.prlog.org/10779356-owl-awarded-36500-in-grants
-for-outreach-to-bantam.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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