Milano launches automated library in Porta Venezia metro station

Milan has introduced BiblioExpress, its first automated library, inside the Porta Venezia metro station. The machine dispenses around 400 items including books, comics, audiobooks, and DVDs, free of charge to registered users and Milan residents. The service is available 7 days a week during metro operating hours. It was co-funded by Regione Lombardia in collaboration with Azienda dei Trasporti Milanesi. The pilot phase runs until the end of summer 2022. Users can sign up via SPID or electronic ID using a QR code on the machine. The project is part of the broader BiblioExpress initiative launched in 2020, which already includes thirty newsstands and five bookshops as lending points. Culture Councillor Tommaso Sacchi stated the goal is to make the lending system more widespread and accessible over the next five years.