Riverside County Library System Begins 'Print-on-Demand' Book Printing

TEMECULA, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Library Systems & Services (LSSI), operator of the Riverside County (California) Library System (RCLS), has announced that an innovative new on-demand book printing program begins today at the Grace Mellman Library in Temecula.

Under a $100,000 grant from the California State Library, the RCLS is studying the usefulness of on-demand printing to enhance library collections. The July 2009 grant has been used to purchase a Book Espresso "print-on-demand" machine which prints, covers and binds trade paperback quality books from computer files.  

Library patrons will now have the option to request titles, have the book printed for free, read it and return it to the library collection, or they may choose to keep the book and pay a printing fee. If the requesting patron is at the Book Espresso location and wants to pay for the book, it can be printed immediately while they wait.

"Growing our collections based upon patron on-demand choices is a new concept for our library system," said Jan Kuebel, Manager of Grace Mellman Library. "Rather than relying solely on interlibrary loan, we now have a way to immediately respond to patron requests for materials outside of our current collection."

Available book titles will be obtained from Lightning Source, with over 500,000 titles available, and Google Books, who has partnered with over 20,000 publishers to make their content available for on-demand printing.

About Riverside County Library System (RCLS)

The RCLS services library users with thirty-three branch libraries and two bookmobiles throughout Riverside County, California. The library system is a leader in innovative literacy and cultural programs, and winner of innumerable library awards, including the 2008 Raul and Estella Mora Award for childhood literacy, and the 2005 American Library Association's prestigious John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award. The library has also been selected to host the distinguished 2010 ALA/ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture.

About Library Systems & Services, LLC. (LSSI)

LSSI is the nation's largest operator of public libraries, and has managed the Riverside County Library System for more than a decade.  Through a public/private partnership model, LSSI has helped communities across the United States benefit from a nationwide library network, save money, and gain higher return on their library investments.  Now in its third decade, LSSI is currently bringing new options to communities and civic leaders struggling to meet the financial and management challenges of this new economy.

SOURCE Library Systems & Services, LLC