By Alex Mutter

Hail, the Biblio-mat

The Monkey’s Paw, an “idiosyncratic antiquarian bookshop” in Toronto, has unveiled the Biblio-Mat, a homemade vending machine that dispenses random books for just two dollars each. Conceived of as an “artful alternative” to bookstore sidewalk bins, the Biblio-Mat was designed and built by Craig Small. It uses a series of levers and pulleys to deliver books that come in a wide range of sizes, and no two books are are the same. The Biblio-Mat also utilizes an old telephone bell, along with dramatic whirrs and vibrations, to accentuate the customer’s experience.

A video of the Biblio-Mat in action can be found here.