In Germany, "free-for-all" libraries are " popping up across the nation on street corners, city squares and suburban supermarkets," the Associated Press (via the San Francisco Chronicle) reported. These public bookshelves are "usually financed by donations and cared for by local volunteer groups."
"This project is aimed at everyone who likes to read--without regard to age or education. It is open for everybody," said Michael Aubermann, one of the organizers of the free book exchange in Cologne. "We installed our other outdoor shelves last year and it's been working really well."
Even some booksellers are on board with the idea. Elmar Muether, acting branch manager at Cologne's Mayersche Buchhandlung bookstore, said, "We see this project rather as a sales promotion than as competition. If books are present everywhere, it helps our business too."
Public bookcases can sometimes have their drawbacks, though. In a New York Times piece headlined "Shelf-Obsessed Writer," Jami Attenberg chronicled her observations of a local café's "free bookcase," as well as the fraught experience of adding three of her titles to the collection, after which she "stalked my own books for five days."
