Clark Kent’s no longer the only one who can step into a phone booth and walk out a superhero. Now anyone in Westbury-sub-Mendip can. All it takes is a little imagination, belief in the power of literature, and this phone booth:
Faced with the prospect of losing their phone booth, residents of Westbury-sub-Mendip (located in southwestern England) decided to buy it from British Telecom for £1. Shortly thereafter they learned that BT was holding a national competition for innovative uses of these old phone booths. After tossing around a few ideas during a tea party, one of the residents came up with idea of transforming it into a book exchange. Having recently lost their mobile library service just a few months prior, this was the perfect solution. Shelves were installed and filled with books donated by the residents.
The guidelines for using the book exchange are simple: take a book, leave a book. There are over 100 books in the Westbury Book Exchange and the turnover rate is high. The shelves are regularly monitored and any books that aren’t moving are donated to a local charity shop. The phone booth is lit at night and it stays open 24/7, 365 days a year. Community response to the mini library has been overwhelmingly positive; the residents treat it with respect and the shelves are always full.
Love it!
Three very hearty cheers for the Westbury Book Exchange!
Sources: BBC, BBC (again), The Guardian, Inhabitat, Toronto Star
Photo credit: Alex (thanks!)
Read the Library Love Fine Print here.
That is so creative. I don’t blame them for not wanting to lose their phone box, not only are they cool but a part of history too. What a wonderful way to share books.
Isn’t it? Every time I write one of these library posts I think, “THIS library’s the best one I’ve seen!” and then the next week rolls around, and I’m saying the exact same thing about another library. It warms my heart
Have you checked out the whole Little Free Library program?
http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/
I have! I wrote a post about them awhile back. Such an awesome idea. Do you have any Little Free Libraries near you? I have yet to see one in person.
Sadly, no. I’m thinking of starting one, though!
That would be awesome! If you ever do, I could write up a “Library Love” post about it if you wanted.
That’d be great, thanks! I will definitely keep you posted.
I love it! I’m fascinated by free libraries, but this one is oh so lovely.
I love it, too! I really need to stop finding all this awesome libraries. They make me want to visit them in person
Delightful! Combining British telephone booths with books? Best idea ever. I wonder if they won the competition . . .
It is the best idea! I wonder if they won, too? I hope more phone booths got transformed into mini libraries!