There’s just something about a library. They seem so regal with their rows & rows of books, and I literally feel smarter when I enter one. In the past decade libraries seem to have lost their value to a gazillion different electronic devices, making all the world’s knowledge instantly available to anyone who desires it. But let’s be honest – you can’t hold the internet or turn a webpage. Suffice to say I was ecstatic when I read about Pop-Up Libraries (yes, they’re a thing!) With their rising popularity, I’m hoping this means that books are making a comeback.
In Belgium, a mini library they’re calling Bookyard features twelve rows of bookshelves, each aligned with the rows in the vineyard of nearby St. Peter’s Abbey. Visitors are invited to donate, borrow, or purchase this pop-up library’s books as they sit on the grass of the surrounding fields and sip the monastery’s wine.
A mobile library in Mexico City called Biblioteca Móvil A47 has over 1,200 books that are raised on overhead shelves. If you can’t get to the library, let the library come to you.
Located in Tel Aviv, the Levinski Library features a collection of books from around the world, in languages from all continents. It is composed of two sets of bookcases, one tall and meant for adults, and across from it, a child-height shelf filled with children’s books.
New York has started allowing the conversion of payphones into mini-libraries. Their custom-made shelving fits over the existing phone infrastructure, and the phones are still operable, in case any cellphone-less soul has an emergency.
Think people should hear about this?