In the fall of 2023 our library, which serves a regional comprehensive university, designed, built, and deployed poetry machines that dispense poems on BPA-free thermal paper at the click of a button. After seeing the “Short Edition” short story dispenser while visiting a different library, I wanted to bring this concept to my own university library. However, purchasing a Short Edition machine was outside our budget. As an alternative, we created our own device using a Raspberry Pi computer and thermal printer for under $200. Creating and maintaining the poetry machine has provided an opportunity to work with and bring joy to our campus community.
The poetry machine is now stationed at our circulation desk and is popular with patrons. Our circulation staff have found the machine’s impact on our patrons heartwarming. Some of our patrons now come to the library specifically to use the device or have made grabbing a new poem a daily ritual.
The poems included have largely been from the public domain. However, we are now working with students in the Creative Writing Club and a creative writing class to feature poems created by students to showcase their work. The poetry machine has also been used as part of displays; we set them to dispense topically relevant poems. For example, during Black History Month we featured Black poets, and during October we added spooky-themed poems. In this presentation we will share details of our poetry machine, how it works, and how we made it. This includes the benefits and limitations of taking a DIY approach. We will also discuss how we have sourced our public domain works and partnered with campus stakeholders to provide poems for the machine. Additionally, we will draw on interviews with our circulation staff to talk about what kind of effects the machine has had on our patrons and how it has drawn them into the library.
About the Presenters Josh Rakower is the Undergraduate Experience Librarian at Western Carolina University. He has previously worked as a librarian at Trociare College and Buffalo State University. He also worked briefly as a mall Easter Bunny. He holds master’s degrees in library and information science and educational studies, and a bachelor’s in communication. His research interests focus on how to add levity into the library and classroom.
Sierra Jay is the Undergraduate Support Library Technician at Hunter Library in Cullowhee, NC. She is a first-year MLIS student at UNC Greensboro, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in information science. Sierra enjoys traveling, thrifting, and dabbles in photography.
