STREET Libraries are a beautiful home for books planted in your front yard. Accessible from the street, they are an invitation to share the joys of reading with your neighbours. If anyone has a book or two that they think others would enjoy, they just pop it into any Street Library they happen to be passing.
Books come and go; no-one needs to check them in or out. People can simply reach in and take what interests them; when they are done, they can return them to the Street Library network, or pass them on to friends.
Part of the fun in having a Street Library is building your own unique version. It needs to be weatherproof and using reclaimed materials will make it ‘green’. Think long term – screws will last longer than nails. Several coats of sealer will ensure your library lasts a long time. A picture frame without the picture could make an excellent door. Apart from that, this is an opportunity for the latent architect in you to creatively express your ideal library / sharing space.
If you come up with a great design, and you’d like to share it, it will be added to the website. There are detailed plans and online resources available; check out all the images of people creating their unique ‘library’. On the Victorian map alone, there are 115 listings; one is at Koonung Cottage in Blackburn North.
For a number of years we have maintained a lending library inside our neighbourhood house. Which is great, for people who know it is there. Now we are expanding it to the street and we hope more people can take advantage of this wonderful asset. … Koonung Cottage.
Perhaps some local Men’s Sheds would like to get involved in building street libraries. For more information go to: streetlibrary.org.au
