The Espresso Book Machine is now set up near the Library Cafe.

The Darien Library is welcoming a new technology, which will provide Library patrons with greater access to a wide variety of paperback books. On Nov. 15, the Library will officially launch the Espresso Book Machine, a database containing millions of books, linked to a state-of-the-art machine, that prints books in the time it takes to brew and sip a cup of coffee, right next to the Library Cafe. 

“With the EBM, you can print books that are in copyright and available from publishers,” said Bronwen Blaney, manager of custom publishing and retail services for On Demand Books, the company responsible for the machine, which offers about 7 million titles.

“This machine is ideal for a book that’s five or 10 years old, and is still in-print and relevant, but maybe isn’t in very high demand — so maybe a bookstore doesn’t stock it, or they carried it and it didn’t sell so they returned it. Basically, you have a title that somebody’s going to want somewhere,” Blaney said Tuesday morning.

It will be a game-changer at the library, according to Library Chief Administrative Officer Alan Kirk Gray. 

“I’m excited because when we first looked at this three years ago, what we understood was there was going to be an immediacy of the availability of a whole broad range of books that are unavailable in any other way to our patrons and we thought that was fantastic,” he said. “At the same time that we’re doing more electronic books, we’re also doing more physical books, because I think peoples’ tastes are individual and unique, especially in a community like this.”

But it’s good for more than printing books that would otherwise need to be ordered from a publisher. The EBM, which is sort of like an ATM for books, will also be a valuable tool for Library patrons who are interested in self-publishing. 

“If someone’s written a book, they can publish it so quickly here,” said Blaney. 

While the EBM is not an ideal tool for local authors who wish to print scores or hundreds of copies, Blaney said it’s a perfect fit for those who wish to print small orders, at a pretty affordable price.

“It’s usually in the ballpark of about $6, plus 2 cents a page, so a 100-page book would be about $8,” she said. 

Once the manuscript and cover art is uploaded, it will continue to exist in the EBM database, so local authors can print the books and sell them on their own, or direct others to order them from the EBM.

“I think it’s a leap forward. It really is,” said Library patron Peter Covello as he watched the machine print, bind and deliver a paperback novel. Covello and other onlookers were able to watch through the EBM’s clear casing as the book was printed and bound together, sliding through the machine’s assembly line in a matter of minutes.

EBM operators will be printing books at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day through the official launch on Nov. 15 so patrons can get a sneak peek at the new addition. For more information, go to www.darienlibrary.org/espresso.