介绍:
Take a book, and leave a book. Public bookshelves have been popping up on the street corners, city squares and in suburban supermarkets across Germany.
In these free-for-all libraries, people can read whatever they want to read, and leave behind any book for others to read. There’s no need to register and no due date, and you can take or give as many books as you want.
Michael Aubermann, one of the organizers of the free book exchange, said, “This action is aimed at everyone who likes reading. It is open for everybody.”
It seems that everyone supports the idea of the free book exchange, even the people who sell books. A manager of a bookstore said, “If books are shown everywhere, it helps our business, too.” The spokeswoman for a German online bookstore also welcomed the movement, “Public bookshelves are not in competition with the online book trade.”
“It is important that we make it easy for everyone to read and take part in this ‘reading culture on the street’ — from old readers to kids,” said Aubermann.
These libraries are supported by donations and taken care of by local volunteer groups. Each bookshelf holds around 200 books. It takes about six weeks to replace the old books with new ones.
The next plan is to open public bookshelves in some poor areas, where people don’t often have as much access to literature.
Nobody really knows where the idea for the public shelves originally comes from, but it’s a great grass-roots movement that is catching on.
