Biblio-Mat Explained

The Biblio-Mat is a random antiquarian book vending machine located at The Monkey's Paw bookstore in Toronto, Canada designed by visual artist Craig Small.[1]

History

Origin

Stephen Fowler, owner of The Monkey's Paw, and his friend Craig Small conceived of the Biblio-Mat in 2012.[2] Fowler, looking for ways to attract customers to his shop’s booth at an upcoming street fair, shared with Small his idea of painting a large cardboard box to look like a vending machine, inside of which an assistant would drop an old random book out of a slot in exchange for a coin. Small loved the idea, but proposed creating a real mechanized vending machine instead.[3] The Biblio-Mat was installed at The Monkey’s Paw in November of 2012.[4] The original price to vend a book was CDN$2.[5] In 2022, the price was increased to $5.[6]

Design

The Biblio-Mat was inspired by vending machines from the 1940s and 50s and was designed to complement the existing aesthetic of The Monkey's Paw bookshop. The machine's shell, made from a salvaged steel office storage locker, is painted pistachio-green at its base and ivory white on top. It features chrome accents and vintage lettering.[7]

Random delivery system

The insertion of a coin or token prompts the Biblio-Mat's microprocessor to randomly select a book from one of three vertical stacks and triggers an antique telephone bell that rings upon delivery. The Biblio-Mat has been referred to as a “serendipity machine."[8] Small said, in an interview with CTV News: "You don't choose the book, the universe chooses it for you."[9]

Reception

Upon its launch, The Biblio-Mat attracted attention from international media outlets[10] [11] [12] [13] as well as thousands of blogs and specialty publications.[14] [15] [16] [17]

Authors Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, and Neil Gaiman are admirers of the Biblio-Mat.[18] [19] [20]

Influence

The Biblio-Mat consistently appears on lists of top Toronto attractions and is often cited as a reason people visit the city.[21] [22] “People use the machine every day, people come visit us from all over the place,” Fowler told Global News in 2018. “Sometimes it feels like the thing is just running non-stop all day long.”[23] The website Atlas Obscura has listed the Biblio-Mat as number one among “Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Toronto.”[24]

In 2021, the musician Jack White, a Biblio-Mat fan, commissioned Small to build a random book machine for the third location of his Third Man Records store in the Soho district of London.[25] The machine, called The Literarium, dispenses random literature from White's publishing company, Third Man Books.[26]

The Biblio-Mat is cited in books about the book trade, including Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany (2018)[27] and The Bookseller's Tale (2020).[28]

Notable uses

People have used the machine to propose marriage on at least two occasions.[29]

In 2013, a Monkey's Paw customer named Vincent Lui used the Biblio-Mat once a week for a year and wrote a review of every book it dispensed.[30] Lui's project was celebrated during Biblio-Mat Fanatic Day.[31]

In 2018, the Biblio-Mat was featured on an episode of The Amazing Race Canada.[32]

References

  1. News: Medley . Mark . 2012-12-05 . Toronto's Monkey Paw automates serendipitous book shopping with Biblio-Mat vending machine . en . National Post . 2022-04-03.
  2. News: Raz . Guy . 2012-11-18 . Book-Vending Machine Dispenses Suspense . en . NPR . 2022-04-03.
  3. News: 2012-11-19 . Biblio-mat: Random book-vending machine deals in mystery . en-CA . The Toronto Star . 2022-04-03 . 0319-0781.
  4. Web site: Rosen . Jody . 2013-03-07 . An Oddly Modern Antiquarian Bookshop . 2022-04-03 . The New York Times . en-US.
  5. Web site: Stein . Sadie . 2012-11-15 . Introducing the Biblio-Mat! . 2022-04-03 . The Paris Review . en.
  6. News: 2022-03-06 . Bloor West's Monkey's Paw bookshop specializes in bizarre subjects . en-CA . The Toronto Star . 2022-04-03 . 0319-0781.
  7. Web site: Rubio . Justin . 2012-11-18 . The Biblio-Mat is a custom-built vending machine for random second-hand books . 2022-04-04 . The Verge . en.
  8. Web site: 2012-11-22 . Serendipity Machines: The "Biblio-Mat" Sells $2 Delights . 2022-04-03 . Hazlitt . en.
  9. Web site: Lightfoot . Scott . 2017-12-30 . Biblio-mat: Getting your next read from a vending machine . 2022-04-03 . CTV News . en.
  10. Web site: Wagner . David . 2012-11-19 . A new development in book vending. . 2022-04-03 . The Atlantic . en.
  11. Web site: 2012-11-19 . Hungry for knowledge? Vending machine dispenses random book . 2022-04-03 . NBC News . en.
  12. Web site: Capon . Felicity . 2012-11-12 . Can't decide which book to buy? Try the lucky dip . 2022-04-03 . www.telegraph.co.uk.
  13. News: Posner . Michael . 2012-11-20 . Biblio-Mat: For $2, a new invention for old books . en-CA . The Globe and Mail . 2022-04-03.
  14. Web site: 2022-03-22 . Toronto antique book store vending machine offers random selections . 2022-04-03 . www.vendingtimes.com . en.
  15. Web site: 2012-11-19 . The 'Biblio-Mat' by Craig Small randomly dispenses books for two dollars . designboom architecture & design magazine . en.
  16. Web site: 2012-11-21 . Vending Machine of the Day: the Biblio-Mat . 2022-04-03 . Bloomberg.
  17. Web site: Doctorow . Cory . 2012-11-18 . Bibliomat: a vending machine for random rare and antiquarian books (with satisfying clunk) . 2022-04-03 . Boing Boing . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2013-01-25 . Margaret Atwood tells Strombo about the Bibliomat . CBC.
  19. Web site: 2012-11-21 . Margaret E. Atwood: This! Is! Brilliant! . Twitter.
  20. Web site: THE BIBLIO-MAT . Craig Small . en-US.
  21. Web site: Allan . David G. . 2014-04-30 . When did Toronto get so cool? . 2022-04-03 . www.bbc.com . en.
  22. Web site: Stone . Zak . 2012-12-04 . This Vintage-Looking Vending Machine Dispenses Rare Books For Just $2 . 2022-04-03 . Fast Company . en-US.
  23. Web site: 2018-07-08 . The world's first antique book vending machine is right here in Canada Globalnews.ca . 2022-04-04 . Global News . en-US.
  24. Web site: A book collector's dream, The Monkey's Paw in Toronto has the world's first "Biblio-Mat", a random book vending machine. . 2022-04-03 . Atlas Obscura . en.
  25. News: Waldie . Paul . 2021-09-30 . Canadian artist's book vending machine makes its debut at Jack White's new Third Man Records store in London . en-CA . The Globe and Mail . 2022-04-03.
  26. Zemler . Emily . 2021-09-26 . Third Man Goes Global: Inside Jack White's New London Venue . 2022-04-03 . Rolling Stone . en-US.
  27. Book: Mount, Jane . Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany . 2018-09-11 . Chronicle Books . 2018 . 978-1-4521-6827-2 . 101 . en.
  28. Book: Latham, Martin . The Bookseller's Tale . 2020-09-03 . Penguin UK . 978-0-14-199124-5 . en.
  29. Web site: 2021-03-12 . Twitter: Got Books? Podcast. Conversations with Booksellers . 2022-04-03 . Twitter . en.
  30. Web site: Bethune . Brian . 2014-02-16 . Bringing a dash of serendipity to the literary . 2022-04-03 . Maclean's . en.
  31. Web site: 2014-01-19 . Biblio-Mat Fanatic Day . 2022-04-03 . blogTO . en.
  32. Web site: 2018-08-09 . Twitter: The Amazing Race Canada on CTV. It's #BookLoversDay! LIKE if you're reading an AMAZING book! . 2022-04-03 . Twitter . en.

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