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State Library looks to install book vending machines around North Dakota

Seven other machines are to be installed in Benson, Burke, McHenry, Sargent, Sioux, Slope and Traill counties, all identified as short on library resources.

Zachary Book Vending jpeg Column #3.jpg
A book vending machine sits on the ground floor of the Capitol in Bismarck on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. The machine will be at the Capitol for a few months before being moved to a community with few or no library resources.
NDNA photo

BISMARCK — Visitors at the Capitol may have noticed a new vending machine recently, one that dispenses books, not snacks or sodas.

The North Dakota State Library recently installed a book vending machine on the ground floor of the state Capitol building. The machine is part of a project by the library to distribute books to places in the state that have limited access to a public library.

The project is funded by federal coronavirus aid through the American Rescue Plan Act. Project cost is $913,000, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

The machine will be at the Capitol through February, then will be moved to a permanent location still to be determined. Seven other machines are to be installed in Benson, Burke, McHenry, Sargent, Sioux, Slope and Traill counties, all identified as short on library resources.

Zachary Weiand is a reporting intern with the North Dakota Newspaper Association.

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