24-hour library opens at West Central Community Center

SPOKANE, Wash. – — There are less than ten of them in the country and now, Spokane is one of the few! Tuesday, the Spokane Library opened their first 24-hour library machine.

Gone are the days where you have to race to the library to pick up your reserved book before closing or return a DVD to avoid a late fee. Now, 340 titles are yours, with the touch of a button.

There, you can check out a library book or movie 365 days a year, 7 days a week. The collection changes every month and they already have some pretty in demand titles. To access them, all you need is a library card.

Spokane Library’s Rae-Lynn Barden said, “if you don’t see a title you that you want in this 24/7 library, you can browse our system catalog and have a hold placed here and pick it up at any time.”

You can also return books from any library here. The location was chosen because the library discovered a service gap in the west central neighborhood.

“This is also the only community center in the city without a library on it’s campus. So it was a natural fit,” added Barden.

The price tag on the machine is $200,000 and was paid for through fund-raising and grant money.

It has two security cameras and shatter proof glass. The inside is temperature controlled, but a permanent roof will be installed in the coming weeks for extreme weather.

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