Contents:
Public bookcases are unlocked, weatherproof cabinets in accessible areas (such as parks, front yards, alleyways) containing free books for anyone to use at any time. Books can be swapped anonymously or even taken with nothing in return, although it’s politely requested that everyone swaps books from the cabinet with one of their own books in order to keep the collection going.
I wondered about the history of public bookcases around the world, and so I made a short zine.
It can be found in my blog as Small, Free, and Shared: a history of Public Bookcases.
In the article I include printable and downloadable copies of the zine in case you want to share more about them in other public bookcases.
I’m currently working on my own public bookcase!
It will be called Pteropus Public Bookcase to honour flying foxes, a creature native to my area and many others, who is an underloved and important pollinator.
It will also be a tribute to my mother, who stirred in me a love of reading, and who was an avid reader herself.