Brantford Public Library celebrated its newest self-serve Library Kiosk at the Sobeys Shellard Lane store on Tuesday, September 18, 2024.
This is now the second Library kiosk in the city, the first of which is housed at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. According to Convergent Library Technologies, the company who supplies the kiosks, this new installation is the third kiosk located in a grocery store in all of North America.
The machine, which is located towards the store’s exit, holds up to 150 books and can be used by anyone with a Brantford Public Library card.
Rae-Lynne Aramburo, Library CEO and Chief Librarian, said the idea of using the kiosk model came from a commitment to make Library materials more available to underserviced areas in the community.
“This kiosk is important because it’s the realization of a goal that the Library Board has set to introduce more opportunities for people throughout the community, and in underserviced areas of the community, to engage with the library. We have so many great resources and services, but we don’t have very many access points so we wanted to be able to make it easier for people to access our resources,” she said. “In partnering with Sobeys, we knew we wanted to move into the sort of southwest area of the city and we were really trying to find a spot that we thought would be convenient to get to, and also maybe offered a wider range of hours of service so that we could really make it easy to access this little aspect of library services.”
Speaking about the partnership, Doug Ermel, Store Manager for Sobeys Shellard Lane, said he was thrilled to be involved.
“This is an exciting initiative and I know a lot of people in the community are already buzzing about it,” he said. “Sobeys is all about feeding the stomachs, and now we’re feeding the minds and we’re feeding the soul.”
To borrow items from the kiosk, residents can scan their Library card and enter the four-digit Library PIN they created when they signed up to be a member. The kiosk door will automatically open and users can then browse through the collection and take out any book that catches their eye. Books removed from the kiosk are automatically checked out and the customer will get a receipt once they close the kiosk door.
There is no limit to the number of books people borrow from the kiosk, which will be continually stocked with a range of high-interest books for kids, teens and adults. Books borrowed from the kiosk can later be returned to the kiosk by following the same steps used to check them out.
Kevin Davis, Mayor for the City of Brantford, said the new kiosk will work as a precursor to the Brantford Public Library’s future third branch, which will be located on the corner of Strickland Avenue and Shellard Lane. The new branch is set to open in 2026 and will be located in a shared facility that will include an elementary school, daycare, and city-operated recreation centre.
“I have to commend the Library for everything it promotes like reading and making reading more accessible for all,” said Davis. “We’ve had issues out here in West Brant in doing the latter and this is a prelude, a teaser I think, for the Shellard Lane Library that we have coming down the line. This is a classic example of how we, in the city, can work together as a team and be stronger together.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
