BranchAnywhere
So as I alluded to yesterday we are officially announcing the coming release of our new U.S. designed and U.S. built BranchAnywhere library materials vending solution. The prototype of which we will unveil at PLA 2010 in Portland, OR next month.
We are leading the design in conjunction with an Indiana based machine builder that we have a long history with, and a local developer and provider of Library Self Check systems (so that we have good and proven SIP2 communications for most ILS systems at launch). The units will be built here in Indiana and will be optimized to the needs of North American Libraries.
A few highlights:
(More details to come, including some BIG ideas that will really differentiate our system from other options on the market)
- Machine will be optimized to support multi-collection types, meaning it will support MOST common library materials of various sizes: bigger/thicker fiction/non-fiction, DVDs, paperbacks, books on CD, Playaways, and even children’s picture books.
- Capacity will vary depending on collection desires:
- We are planning at least a Std Unit which will have a mix of 4 sizes/types and have a total collection limit of about 325-350 items.
- A DVD “heavy” unit which will be over 500 items and will heavily lean towards DVDs
- A “Book Only” version which won’t have DVD slots but could have other Audio/Visual and capacity will be under 300 items
- Because of the nature of the design of the machine MUCH LARGER capacities will be possible but will require a larger footprint
- Standard footprint will be about 4.75′ deep by 6.5′ wide by 7’ tall
(though our prototype machine is a little wider than this) - The software and User Interface are being developed to focus on ease of use and “ATM like” usability. Since the total collection size will typically be under 500 items the feedback we’ve gotten is a fully catalog search approach is overkill. We looked at a lot of the commercial vending solutions user interfaces for inspiration about how to keep it simple. We are also working in conjunction with a User Interface Design Expert to help make this the best interface possible.
We’ll be unveiling our working prototype at PLA next month. Our approach is that we have the great basis for the machine but we want lots of input and feedback from librarians around the country to help us really make this the best product to meet the real needs of the libraries we serve.
More exciting details to come…