When you go to a vending machine you’re likely to buy snacks like chocolates, chips and soft drinks. But a novel idea from a Council could soon see them become a destination for local book lovers as well.
At a recent Cumberland City Council meeting, a motion was put forward to investigate the possibility of placing book vending machines in community spaces across the Local Government Area (LGA), which currently don’t have a library service.
The motion, moved by Councillor Sabrin Farooqui, said introducing book vending machines to the local community would make reading “more convenient” for residents.
“These days it’s hard to convince young people to read books but this new technology can be more convincing to tell them to read,” she said.
“This is not only about Berala, this about across the LGAs. Wherever it’s needed, we will consider to put a vending machine library [there].”
She continued to say that the new technology of the book vending machine wouldn’t require additional staff to be hired by Council.
“People need library cards to borrow and return [the books], they can reserve the books and can take it from the vending machine,” she added.
“Our current Council staff can do the returns and fill it up, so we don’t need extra staff to do it.”
The motion comes after a previous Council meeting discussed the possibility of a mobile library service in Berala, moved by Councillor Helen Hughes, which ultimately failed to pass.
Although she supports the book vending machines, Hughes said they need to put library services in the public view, particularly for children who don’t have a good reading background.
“The problem is that just having a vending machine [isn’t] always going to get it out there to… be able to encourage reading, particularly for young children, particularly for accessibility for older people,” she said.
“I will be supporting this because I would support any option to see information moving forward, but I just feel that this is absolutely a slap in the face personally, given that I tried to put things forward but no, no, no, no.”
When put to a vote, the motion received the unanimous support of the Chamber.
Council will now refer the option of placing book vending machines in the Cumberland LGA to the Library Committee for further consideration.
Neighbouring Council, City of Parramatta, provides residents with a 24-hour accessible book vending machine at Wentworth Point Library and Community Centre.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.