New Machine At Brooklyn Public Library Allows Users To Publish Own Work

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- What smells of glue, hums like a copy machine and can print a book in as little as four minutes?

It's the Expresso Book Machine at the Brooklyn Public Library.

The new machine lets users print books on demand and gives them instant access to million of titles that can be printed in many languages.

The EBM can be used to print any book from EspressNet, which is a digital catalog of content. Hard-to-find books, including those in public domain, are also easily accessible through the newly installed technology.

"It allows people to print a book that maybe they can't otherwise get, some obscure title that happens to be in the public domain. This machine brings to our collection an additional eight million titles that are in the public domain or that are copyrighted but the publishers are allowing to be a part of our library," Linda Johnson, President of the Brooklyn Public Library told 1010 WINS.

The Espresso Book Machine is about 5 feet tall and 7 feet wide. The manufacturer, On Demand Books, agreed to install it at no cost and to operate the machine, which costs about $125,000, with its own staff.

Another great option that users have when using the machine is to print and publish their own work.

"People are doing quite a lot of self-publishing," Johnson said. "Because Brooklyn does have a lot of writers, it wouldn't surprise me if that was one of the biggest uses."

Currently On Demand Books offers consulting services for authors, with packages for formatting advice, a proof copy and a free upload of revisions for $149.

About 70 machines operate around the world, mostly in Canada and the United States. About 30 more machines are expected to go into operation by the summer.

The library is currently holding a contest to name the new machine and accepting entries until March 15.

Planning on using the Expresso Book Machine?  Let us know in the comments section below...