GoLibrary or Library-a-Go-Go (Swedish: Bokomaten) is a book lending vending machine used by libraries in Sweden and the U.S. state of California. [1] [2] [3] [4] The Contra Costa Library was the body that first brought these machines to the United States. [5] [6]
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 A young woman holding a book next to a bokomaten machine in Sweden |
The machines were developed by the Swedish company Distec and have been used in Stockholm for several years. [7] They were introduced in California and was first used on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system at its Pittsburg/Bay Point, El Cerrito del Norte, and Millbrae Stations. [1] [2] [3] [4] The Pittsburg and El Cerrito machines are operated by the Contra Costa Public Library System. [1] [2] [3] That library also has a machine at Sandy Cove Shopping Center in Discovery Bay, California, a town without a local library. [1] [2] [3] [8] The machine in Millbrae is operated by the Peninsula Library System. [1] [2] [4]
The Yuba County Library, which has only one outlet and a bookmobile, plans to add a GoLibrary machine as well. [1] There are also initiatives that adopted the GoLibrary framework but using the virtual platform such as the project launched by the national library of Singapore. [9] A similar trend was introduced in Denmark but it involves live books and local experts that can be "checked out" for 30 minutes at a time. [10] The experts can discuss all aspects of a subject matter with individuals or groups.
Contra Costa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,165,927. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is primarily suburban. The county's name refers to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bay Point, formerly West Pittsburg and originally Bella Vista is a census-designated place located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in Contra Costa County, California. Bay Point is just west of Pittsburg, California, and northeast of Concord, California, on the southern shore of Suisun Bay. The population of Bay Point was 21,349 as of 2010. The Pittsburg/Bay Point Station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rail system is located adjacent to Bay Point in Pittsburg. The community is traversed by a freeway, State Route 4, the California Delta Highway. Being unincorporated, Bay Point does not have its own police department. The community is policed by the California Highway Patrol and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. The ZIP code is 94565, and the area code is 925.
El Cerrito is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 census. El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was incorporated in 1917 as a village with 1,500 residents. As of the census in 2000, there were 23,171 people, 10,208 households and 5,971 families in the city.
San Pablo is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. The current Mayor is Abel Pineda. Currently, the City Council consists of Abel Pineda, Patricia Ponce, Arturo Cruz, Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, and Rita Xavier. Ponce is the Vice Mayor, and Cruz, Pabon-Alvarado, and Xavier are Council Members. Dorothy Gantt is the city Clerk. Viviana Toledo is the city Treasurer.
AC Transit is an Oakland-based public transit agency serving the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. AC Transit also operates "Transbay" routes across San Francisco Bay to San Francisco and selected areas in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. AC Transit is constituted as a special district under California law. It is governed by seven elected members. It is not a part of or under the control of Alameda or Contra Costa counties or any local jurisdictions.
WestCAT is a public transportation service in western Contra Costa County. It is a service of the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority.
The Yellow Line is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line in the San Francisco Bay Area that runs between Antioch and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Some morning trains and all trains after 9 pm are extended from SFO to serve Millbrae station when the Red Line is not running. It serves 28 stations in Antioch, Pittsburg, Bay Point, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Oakland, San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Millbrae. It is the most-used BART line, and the only line with additional trains on weekdays.
Millbrae station is an intermodal transit station serving Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain, located in Millbrae, California. The station is the terminal station for BART on the San Francisco Peninsula, served by two lines: The Red Line before 9 pm and the Yellow Line during the early morning and evening. It is served by all Caltrain services. The station is also served by SamTrans bus service, Commute.org and Caltrain shuttle buses, and other shuttles.
Richmond station is an Amtrak intercity rail and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in downtown Richmond, California. Richmond is the north terminus of BART service on the Orange Line and Red Line; it is a stop for Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, and California Zephyr routes. The accessible station has one island platform for the two BART tracks, with a second island platform serving two of the three tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision for Amtrak trains. It is one of two transfer points between BART and Amtrak, along with Oakland Coliseum station.
El Cerrito del Norte station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located on Cutting Boulevard in El Cerrito, California. The station is served by the Orange Line and Red Line. Located near San Pablo Avenue and Interstate 80, it serves as a regional transit hub for local AC Transit bus services, and for commuter feeder services from Solano, Napa, and Marin Counties in the North Bay plus western Contra Costa County. Opened in 1973, the station was renovated in 2017–2021 to add additional elevators, stairs, and lobby space.
The Richmond Parkway Transit Center, or RPTC, is a park and ride lot and bus terminal located in Richmond, California. It is named after the adjacent Richmond Parkway and serves as a transfer point for WestCAT and AC Transit. The center is situated on the corner of Richmond Parkway and Blume Drive, near the Pinole border and adjacent to Interstate 80 and the Hilltop Plaza shopping center.
San Quentin is a small unincorporated community in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west of Point San Quentin, at an elevation of 30 feet.
Richmond Heights, formerly East Richmond and also known as Mira Vista, is a district of eastern Richmond, California in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Cutting Boulevard is a major east–west arterial trunk road in the city of Richmond, California.
SolanoExpress is a public transit network of regional express buses connecting Solano County, California to Contra Costa County and the Sacramento Valley. It is managed by the Solano Transportation Authority and operated by SolTrans. The Solano Transportation Authority is a joint powers authority established in 1990 by Solano County and the cities of Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo to serve as the Congestion Management Agency for Solano County, as mandated by California law.
Hercules Transit Center is a major commuter hub in the western Contra Costa County city of Hercules, California. It is anchored by WestCAT bus services. The center was originally on San Pablo Avenue. In August 2009, the transit center was relocated to the other side of I-80 with additional paid parking, which is $3/day.
eBART is a hybrid rail branch line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in eastern Contra Costa County, California, United States. The line extends the Yellow Line beyond Pittsburg/Bay Point station to Antioch station.
Abella Center formerly International Marketplace and originally El Portal Shopping Center is a mixed-use city services, business, shopping center and housing village transit-oriented development that was formerly a mall in San Pablo, California.
Doctors Medical Center was an eight-story, 120-bed public hospital in San Pablo, California which served 250,000 residents in western Contra Costa County from 1954 to 2015.
