BooksActually, the Singapore bookstore, has begun selling books in vending machines, two of which went live last Friday. As owner Kenny Leck wrote on Facebook, "The machines have risen!"
The first two machines are at the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Visitors Centre. A third machine will be placed at the Goodman Arts Centre later this month. According to the Straits Times, the machines will stay at the current locations for about three months, after which they will move to other locations in Singapore.
Supported by a grant from Spring Singapore, the machines hold 120-150 books each (the visitors center machine also sells some DVDs and CDs). Titles include "the works of Singaporean writers and creators and range from poetry and short stories to graphic novels."
BooksActually manager Renee Ting told the Straits Times that the inspiration for the machines was the Penguincubator, created by Penguin Books founder Allen Lane in 1937. "The machine is our way of bringing Singapore literature out of our bookstore and closer to the public," she added.
BooksActually noted that it's "still working out some of the teething glitches. So sometimes books might get stuck, we will personally bank transfer refund the amount paid when that happens (FB message us). And sometimes, it will dispense 2 books. Which in this case, this is your lucky day, a present from the cats at BooksActually."
