Though e-books get all the press these days, good old fashioned paper books not only still exist—they are still being innovated. For example: this week the Brooklyn Public Library took a jump into the future when it installed an Espresso Book Machine in Central Library's Grand Lobby. So now if the library doesn't have your book—but it exists in OnDemandBooks library—you can just print it yourself.
"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 isn't exactly new, but it is still a rarity in the city. The only other one working here is at McNally Jackson (we tooled around with it last year). Beyond printing up obscure books, the machine will also let you print out your own works. All you need is a digital file (which you can then sell to others if you'd like).
Meanwhile, for those into naming things, the BPL is holding a naming competition for their new toy. Submit a suggestion before March 15 and you could win "a BPL gift bag filled with goodies." We're thinking Publisherless Brooklyn.
