If you're anything like me, one of the most frustrating aspects of the downtown commute is the lack of immediate access to obscure library materials.

Luckily, the Toronto Public Library is considering installing an automated kiosk to dispense books, CDs and DVDs at Union Station. The kiosk--which, granted, sounds pretty neat--would allow borrowers to choose their selections via touchscreen and complete the transaction with a swipe of their library card. Materials would then be returned to the kiosk by the due date.

"What it does is it allows you to make library materials more available to audiences and areas where you might not be able to put a library branch," Anne Bailey, the director of branch libraries for the Toronto Public Library, told CBC News. "We think that people will really benefit from this type of access to our service and it will also introduce new people to the library."

Bailey predicts the kiosk will be operating at Union Station at 2012.