Rachel Massman scanned her library card in the reader, punched in a four-digit code and opened the door of the Express Library West Arvada — entering into a first-of-its-kind standalone “ghost library,” where there is no staff on hand and cameras watch your every move.
“I think it’s exciting,” said the Arvada resident one morning this week. “I work at home and I got tired of looking at my own four walls. I’m very excited to try something new.”
Jefferson County Public Library is touting its new express library as a novel and convenient approach to providing library services to a society that is increasingly accustomed to automation and self-service.
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[Library spokeswoman Kim] McGrigg said the cost to equip and stand up the express library was approximately $141,000, including a 5-year lease on the space. The software behind the self-access door code system, provided by library tech firm Bibliotecha, costs $9,000 per year.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
