Dispensing With the DVD Circulation Dilemma
Mark Ellis · 2008
When this public library instituted self-pickup for holds, it saved staff time, but people discovered they could take items off the shelf and walk away with them. After most of a $40,000 DVD collection disappeared, staffers looked for ways to avoid keeping discs behind the desk. They found an Italian company that made ATM-style VHS tape dispensers and convinced a local library vendor to collaborate. After adding a SIP interface to the original machine along with some custom programming, the library had its first public media dispenser. Now theft is down and circ is up.