September 18, 2008
U. of Michigan Library Installs 'ATM of Books'
Library users at the University of Michigan will soon be able to order print-on-demand copies of books from the university’s collection—and get them in about the time it takes for a barista to whip up a latte. The Espresso Book Machine, a book-printing machine described as “the ATM of books,” goes online at Michigan’s library Oct. 1. Michigan says it’s the first university library to install the machine.
Just about any digitized, out-of-copyright book from Michigan’s collection can be printed and bound on the spot. Printing takes five to seven minutes, and the cost is about $10 per book. Users will also be able to print books from online sources such as the Open Content Alliance. The Espresso’s manufacturer, On Demand Books, wants to create a network of machines in libraries and bookshops around the world, allowing users to print books from collections anywhere.
“This is a significant moment in the history of book publishing and distribution,” Paul Courant, dean of libraries at the University of Michigan, said in a press release announcing the Espresso’s arrival on campus. “It’s a great step toward the democratization of information, getting information to readers when and where they need it.”
Watch a wee video of the Espresso doing its thing here. —Jennifer Howard
Posted on Thursday September 18, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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Sounds promising. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t really show the finished product, or add much to the story given here.
— Gustave Sep 18, 11:43 AM #
cool
— Drago Sep 18, 02:29 PM #
Watch the complaints when they realize they cannot get the copyrighted stuff…
— Marilyn Sep 18, 07:38 PM #
Wouldn’t have been possible without the Google Books project, I’m sure — Google digitized a whole lot of Michigan’s books & let them keep a copy. Or it would have been possible, but there wouldn’t have been enough digitized books to make it worthwhile.
And I agree: people will immediately start complaining about not being able to get copyrighted material.
— Amanda French Sep 19, 08:48 AM #
And the authors who wrote the copyrighted works will not be ripped off, nor will the publishers who incurred the up-front plant costs and the manufacturing costs of the books.
Until someone comes up with a way to bypass such legalities.
— Dan Sep 19, 08:54 AM #
This technology overcomes the time delays associated with traditional interlibrary loan requests and should be a boon to humanities researchers. Kudos to the leadership of U of Michigan libraries.
— Lorenzo Blake Sep 19, 09:25 AM #
Complaints about not being able to get material that is still covered by copyright? Sounds like an excellent time for education about copyright and intellectual property in general…
— Peter Murray Sep 19, 09:30 AM #
The process is a good first step, but some of the material will not print out with clarity due to the quality of digitization. Most of the material will be pre-1923 books. Paul Courant calls this democratization. At $10/book, I’m not sure that’s true. However, these initial forays usually lead to better outcomes over time.
— Thomas Bacher Sep 19, 09:44 AM #
Have you seen what Alibris charges for some of these out of print, out of copyright books? Let me tell you, $10 is a deal. Also, quicker and less wasteful than printing it yourself, which many people do.
People will complain about not being able to do in-copyright titles, but then complainers will always find something to complain about. Worrying about that, or the possibility that some pages might not be perfect, is no reason to hold off on trying this service.
— Chris Sep 19, 09:48 AM #
Complaints about copyright? Be my guest! The complaints are indications of growing awareness about copyright’s powerful force over information access. If we do not complain, the law will never change, and authors will continue to give away their rights. Complain, please!
— Kenneth Crews Sep 19, 09:56 AM #
Just FYI, U of M is not quite the first to have the machine. The University of Alberta installed one earlier this year. See http://www.universityaffairs.ca/search/index.html
— Leo C. Sep 19, 10:08 AM #
That’s right, the University of Alberta’s Bookstore installed one in November 2007. The school has 36,000 students. The store manages and distributes both copyrighted and out of copyright books.
— Rich Sep 19, 10:34 AM #
Interesting about U Alberta. So Michigan may be the first U.S. school to install one. Are there any Alberta readers out there who have used the machine and can report on how well it works?
— Jennifer Howard Sep 19, 10:43 AM #
In our press release we said we were the first university library to have an EBM, not the first university. http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6735 Alberta’ machine is in the bookstore, and their experience was helpful to us as we decided to proceed.
— Paul N. Courant Sep 19, 01:40 PM #
Thanks for the clarification. I will correct that in the post.
— Jennifer Howard Sep 19, 02:42 PM #
Here’s a bit more on the machine at U of Alberta. By all reports, it has been a big hit. It’s a particular boon to self-publishing authors, publishers of poetry (who just need short runs), and people printing family histories, etc. Two chem profs are using an out-of-print basic chem book through this machine and saving their students almost $100 each.
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=8849
— DA Sep 19, 07:28 PM #
Why not just download the book in electronic form and read it on a device like the Kindle or Sony ebook?
— Karl Miller Sep 22, 11:41 AM #
# 6 Not sure how this helps with interlibrary loan delays since the materials are all held at Michigan and wouldn’t be asked for on ILL anyway—unless of course they are lost. As someone who works in a university library, my first thought was—another printer that jams, runs out of paper and toner, etc and will require staff to maintain. When the actual book is in the library and available for use…..
— Kathy Sep 22, 11:55 AM #
Re: Comments which complain about copyright impacting what is available. It sounds like an opportunity for publishers and not a problem. When will publishers step up and allow licensing for this sort of distribution and take a percentage of each title of theirs which is printed? I think the authors could benefit as well, and it could still be a bargain for the consumer.
— JamesCA Sep 22, 03:27 PM #
#17- Sony eReaders are about $250, and the Kindles are even more. Plus, battery life is not so good on the Kindle or the eReader. When the prices drop for these devices and more features are offered they will probably be more mainstream. Until then, I’d like to try out this print-on-demand Espresso machine.
— Dynamic Librarian Sep 22, 03:39 PM #
I’ve been tracking other Espresso projects and I salute Michigan for their foresight. Couple the University’s collection with public domain e-books and a vast world of print is available to all.
— NJ Librarain Sep 22, 04:15 PM #
They better be two-sided pages!
Imagine students doing this to save money instead of buying the edition required for their classes….another ton of paper, jeez.
— Barbara Oct 6, 02:17 PM #