There’s a vending machine at the Niagara Regional Native Centre, but it’s not packed with chips and snacks.
This vending machine is filled with books — specifically, Indigenous-authored books, for community members to take home for free.
The machine is sponsored by Start2Finish, a Canadian charity that provides educational support to the country’s at-risk children, intending to break the child poverty cycle.
The Niagara Regional Native Centre received one of eight book vending machines provided to friendship/cultural centres and schools on Anishinaabe Algonquin, Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, Attawandaron, Blackfoot Confederacy, Tsuut’ina, Îyâxe Nakoda Nations and Métis Nation lands.
Wyller Fushtey, the Native Centre’s Akwe:go program coordinator, controls the book vending machine.
“It’s an opportunity for our community to access Indigenous literature by Indigenous authors and see themselves represented in that literature as well,” Fushtey told The Lake Report.
Community members who would like to get a book from the vending machine can ask any staff member for a free token to operate the machine, Fushtey said.
“If they want two books, we will give them two tokens. There’s no limit or anything like that,” he said.
The machine gets restocked around twice a year and Fushtey is able to select which books fill the machine from a provided catalogue.
Most books are geared toward children, but there are a select number of chapter books and interesting picture books that appeal to all ages, Fushtey said.
“I would love for more people to know about it,” he said, adding that the completely free resource is a great new way for kids to get into reading.
The novelty of the vending machine makes it an encouraging and fun way to get kids to read.
“They’re not usually excited to get a book from the library, so to get a token and choose their own book adds a bit of excitement,” he said.
For more information on the Niagara Regional Native Centre’s book vending machine, email Wyller Fushtey at akwego@nrnc.ca.
