It sounds like something out of Gutenberg's 15th century shop: a machine that prints books, one at a time.

Officials at the Sacramento Public Library, however, are betting that their new Espresso Book Machine – the newest version west of the Mississippi – will put them in the vanguard of library service.

"This is all such uncharted territory for libraries," said Manya Shorr, supervisor of the Central Library, where the machine will be located.

With the new machine, the library can do two new things:

• Give local writers the opportunity to print their own books, whether it's a single copy or dozens.

• Put books in patrons' hands that aren't available in stores or on local library shelves. Literally millions of titles are available.

"We are the very first," said Shorr, referring to the updated model of the machine purchased through a grant from the California State Library.

Only a few of the Espresso Book Machines exist in California, and they are older models.

Working from digital files, the $150,000 machine quickly – in five minutes or so – prints a soft cover for a book, prints the text pages, binds the book, trims the pages and delivers the finished product.

With the machine guts exposed by clear walls, you can watch it work – motor, rubber belts, wheels, pistons, springs and blades.

"I just love it," said library Director Rivkah Sass. "It's like Rube Goldberg."

When finished, a warm book is presented – between 40 and 830 pages thick (hear that, William Vollman?) and roughly 4 by 5 inches to 8 by 10 inches.

Covers are in color, but text is only in black ink.

The library won't have the machine running for the public until mid-November, and costs to the public are still being worked out.

For an original book, setup costs may be around $100, including test books.

For something in the 3 million-book database, it could be as little as $9 or $10 for a 150-page book.

In connection with the original books, the library has started what it is calling the I Street Community Writing and Publishing Center.

The library will start holding writing classes in branches to try to replace the recently ended UC Davis Extension Creative Writing program.

"It's really about working that connection between reading and writing and community," said Sass.

There are also discussions of using the machine to support 916 INK, a new program that includes publishing student authors as a key part of literacy education.

Although materials circulation dropped recently while library downloads and other programs are going up, Sass is convinced that there will always be a demand for the material product.

"Even young people love physical books," she said.

The physical machine is accompanied by a virtual warehouse of available titles, searchable at ondemandbooks.com

Search for knitting, for example, and you may come up with "Utopia Yarn Book: Being a Practical Treatise on Knitting and Crocheting."

A search under cupcake and cake decorating turned up titles by VDM Publishing, which compiles Wikipedia articles as books.

Some titles are iffy and others – certain editions of "Tom Sawyer," for example – are available because they are out of copyright.

A few respected publishers, including HarperCollins, have reached agreements to make their copyrighted backlist books – not available in stores – printable through the Espresso Book Machine.

Librarians in Sacramento plan an orientation session on the machine for Nov. 8.

For more information, see saclibrary.org/istreet.

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