Drexel University (DU) has installed a 24-hour self-servicing vending machine at the W. W. Hagerty Llibrary to dispense free laptops to students.

With just a swipe of a Drexel ID card, the machine gives out 15-inch MacBooks for free.

This system was installed ever since the library started to function 24 hours a day.

However, the library still offers over-the-counter laptop borrowing and also has desktops.

"From a safety standpoint, a student carrying expensive laptops, especially at night, is not a good idea," a student leader, Omer I. Hashmi told The Chronicle.

Hashmi also said that staff members are always not available to rent out laptops especially during late night shifts.

"This was a great opportunity to match a specific student need with library staff's ongoing exploration of cutting edge technologies. We expect the resulting initiative to improve the Drexel student's academic experience," Danuta A. Nitecki, the university's dean of libraries said.

The machine is created by a Dallas-based Company, LaptopsAnytime, which has 12 slots in the machine.

Nitecki told the newspaper that that the vending machine cost about $30,000, which included the price of twelve 15-inch MacBooks. It was installed in the month of January.

Students, faculty and other staff members need to select from the available laptops by navigating on the touch screen and then just need to swipe their official card to confirm the rental. The requested laptop pops out from any one of the slots.

The laptop must be used in the library only and has to be returned within five hours, after which they're charged $5 an hour.

Also, all information is wiped off once the MacBook is inserted back into the slot. Meanwhile, the laptop's battery also gets charged.

Jonathan Ruttenberg, vice president and co-founder, LaptopsAnytime, told Inside Higher Ed that about six universities are currently using the kiosks and another half-dozen are in the process of installing them.

Within a week of installation, the DU library noticed 541 checkouts, averaging about one an hour.

Nitecki said that if the positive feedback continues to pour in, the management might think of adding similar kiosks in other places on campus, like the health sciences library.