Posts filed under ‘unusual libraries’
books in hollowed-out logs in Berlin
These shelves are connected with Book Forest and BookCrossing. I hope they succeed! Thanks, BoingBoing and Bookshelf.
Mini-libraries all over town
The Little Free Library project aims to get little one-shelf libraries all over the U.S.. The birdhouse-like structures are endearing and the project seems delightful. (The librarian in me, though, fears that these sweet little birdhouse structures will end up becoming dumping grounds for junky books that nobody wants. Hush, librarian in me!) Thanks, BoingBoing!
1928 hospital bookmobile
This photo from the beautiful and stylish Bookshelf blog shows the Los Angeles Public Library’s hospital bookmobile in 1928. Thanks, BoingBoing!
Mini-libraries in NYC phone booths
New York City architect John Locke proposes converting neglected NYC phone booths into tiny little libraries. According to this article, “Using donated books, Locke tried a first version in one uptown neighbourhood that was promptly cleared of books in six hours and had the shelving stolen in a little over a week. His second version in another neighbourhood eight blocks south and pictured above, fared much better, thanks to the change of location and the addition of a Dewey-like organization system and official-looking DUB logo.” Thanks, Dina Wood!
Human libraries
According to humanlibrary.org, the first human library took place in 2000 in Denmark. Other human libraries are sprouting up all over the world. Here’s an article about one in Utah, where you can “check out” Mormon Turned Pagan, Female Gamer, and Extreme Weather Chaser. Thanks, Aubrey Hirsch!
Library shenanigans of Occupy Wall Street
During Occupy Wall Street (fall 2011), the picture at left made the rounds in Facebook; also, an impromptu “People’s Library” sprung up in New York City. Thanks, Dina Wood and Josh Getzler!
Book Booth
Like the phonebox library in Somerset, England, this teeny-tiny library in Clinton Corners, New York is housed in an old English phone booth and operates on the honor system. Thanks, David Weinstock!
Biblioburro donkey library in Colombia
Biblioburro is a traveling library in Colombia set up by Luis Soriano in 1990. You can read the CNN article from 2010, a NYT article from 2008, the Wikipedia entry, or a children’s book. Or maybe you’d like to watch a YouTube video. PBS will broadcast a program on it tonight (July 19). Thanks, Dina Wood!
Captain Underpants library
Sarah Sloat’s blog post about the Dummhausen library (which had to close because someone stole the book) reminds me to document the library in Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series. The school library contains only one book, and the librarian is Ms. Singerbrains (say it out loud).
In Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People (number eight in the series), our heroes George and Harold visit an alternate reality where their school’s library is full of books, and the librarian even celebrates Banned Books Week (she’s shown holding a copy of Mommy Has Two Heathers, a play on this frequently-banned book). And that reminds me! Pilkey has other library shenanigans in his book The Dumb Bunnies, too. In that book, the dumb bunnies “bowl a home run at the public library,” where books on the shelves include The Condo that Jack Subleased, The Second to Last of the Mohicans, and Green Eggs and Tofu.
The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
In Audrey Niffenegger’s The Night Bookmobile (Abrams ComicArts, 2010), each night bookmobile is full of all the books its visitor has ever read — no more, no less. Imagine!
It’s a beautifully-drawn graphic novel mostly about books, love, loneliness, death, and identity, but it’s also about librarianship, I suppose. You can read it in one sitting, but I bet you’ll think about it for much, much longer, whether you’re a librarian or not.
Thanks, Marianne Aldrich.
Library Shenanigans 