Two Meridian, Idaho, women "are making their voices heard through a book-stocked vending machine," Idaho Press reported. Last year, after the Concerned Citizens of Meridian gave the local Library a list of more than 50 books it wanted to restrict access to, Chelsea Major, co-owner of Pearl House Collective, and Shelley Searle, who runs two creative vending machines in the Treasure Valley, teamed up to create a banned book vending machine.
"Our bookstore had been doing pop-ups, but we really saw a need to create a book club, focusing on those books that were being banned and really just creating a space where people can come read the book, and we can talk authentically about what's challenging in it," Major said. "Books aren't always easy, but we think that books are meaningful and just because you don't like something doesn't mean you should ban it."
The vending machine features books that have been banned historically or have been under fire in recent years, along with items like bookmarks and earrings. Recently the vending machine opened for customers at Loose Screw Beer Co. in Meridian.
"These are books that touch on things that are integral to being a human: trauma, sexuality, understanding yourself, understanding your body, understanding differences across race and gender," Major said. "All of these are just ways we walk within the world. When we try to hide or act like these things don't happen, we aren't fixing the problem, we're skirting around it.... Naysayers aren't looking at what the story is trying to tell people--they pick and choose things and take pieces out of context."
The vending machine is an attempt to bring books to the forefront of local conversations and make books more accessible to people. Major said, "It's all about community at the end of the day. We don't really have any bookstores that have a community space where you can just hang out, come up with a business idea, meet up with a friend and grab a coffee."
Searle added: "You can't fix what you don't know is what is going on. It's the little things in life that make us happy. We want to bring back that sense of wonder and remind people that you can take action and part of that is by buying these things and supporting locals, supporting banned books.... Anytime someone is trying to restrict access to knowledge, it's something that we should be looking at."
Several book clubs meet at the Loose Screw, where Searle pitched the idea for a vending machine to owner Mike Garcia, who said, "We're excited to be a part of it. It really fits in with our clientele. We're very family friendly here, so I think the mix fits well with our crowd."