In collaboration with the Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has installed a Short Story Dispenser in the Virtual Library in the D/E Connector. Airport CEO Chellie Cameron and Free Library President and Director Siobhan Reardon introduced passengers today to this innovative amenity.
The five-foot tall, screen-less, translucent glass kiosk prints a fiction story that can be read in one, three or five minutes. Users press one of three buttons indicating which length of story they prefer and receive a story printed on eco-friendly paper. The stories are drawn from a catalog submitted to and edited by Short Édition, a French community publisher that developed the Dispenser.
“PHL is the first airport location for the Short Edition Story Dispenser in the country and one of three dispensers in the entire city of Philadelphia, so this is very exciting for us,” said Cameron. “We have a wide range of passengers who travel through the Airport and the stories can be enjoyable to everyone.”
The Short Edition Story Dispensers are made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in partnership with the Public Library Association. The Free Library of Philadelphia is one of four library systems selected for this project.
Since 2014, PHL has featured the Virtual Library. It brings the Free Library’s vast electronic resources to passengers, who can log on to PHL’s free Wi-Fi to access the Library’s e-books, nearly 1,200 author podcasts, and other digital content.
“Our goals are to create excitement about reading in unexpected places throughout the city and to increase public awareness of the Free Library’s programs and services,” said Reardon. “Having a kiosk at Philadelphia International Airport in the Library space there continues our outreach to people who may not be Free Library regulars, but who would enjoy a quick, accessible read. The Story Dispensers are fun to use while also promoting literacy, either on-the-go or while waiting for a flight.”
