Wellington County has come up with a unique way to borrow books and DVDs.
As of October books and DVDs can be borrowed through vending machines.
The library installed two machines, one at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex in Mount Forest and the other at the Centre Wellington Sportsplex in Fergus.
The process is simple. Visitors can use their library card to borrow any material displayed in the vending machine such as DVD’s, bestselling novels and children's books.
Borrowed materials can only be returned to one of the Wellington County Library branches.
“We introduced these units in Oct. 2018 as a great opportunity to reach people who maybe don’t come to the library on a regular basis, or who would appreciate access to library materials while spending time at the arenas,” said assistant chief librarian Chanda Gilpin.
The Fergus location has proved to be more popular than the Mount Forest location with 300 items borrowed, whereas the Mount Forest location has seen less than 100 items borrowed.
The most popular materials so far have been children’s chapter books, children’s graphic novels and DVDs.
Gilpin says the vending machine is replenished every few weeks with new items by the library staff to keep things updated.
“We have received a lot of positive feedback from the public who are loving the concept of vending books,” said Gilpin.
“Children in particular love using the kiosks. It’s a fun experience, watching that book or movie you’ve chosen get pushed to the front and drop down for you to pick it up. And then you get to enjoy that book or movie as well."
