Public bookcase
A public bookcase is a cabinet with books that is used to offer books free of charge, anonymously and without any formalities for exchange or to take away. In church, commercial or public institutions , the books intended for exchange or for free removal are usually in separate areas, which are usually only accessible at certain times.
Origin and Idea
Similar to the idea of bookcrossing , the idea of establishing bookcases that should be accessible to the public at all times to support the exchange of literature developed as early as the 1990s . Based on installations as an artistic act (from 1991 by the action artist duo Clegg & Guttmann , for the first time in Graz , also in Mainz), the first bookcases for use as a “free open-air library” were realized in Darmstadt and Hanover at the end of the 1990s In 2013 there were already 31 bookcases in the city of Hanover alone. Since the design by the designer and set designer Trixy Royeck, then an interior design student in Mainz, was awarded a prize in a competition organized by the Bonn Community Foundation , the concept has found numerous imitators. The Cologne architect Hans-Jürgen Greve designed his own model (BOKX) made of steel and acrylic glass based on Trixy Royeck's bookcase, which is optimized for outdoor areas. He sells these BOKX bookcases through urbanlife eG, which claims to be the main producer of open bookcases in Europe. 390 of these weatherproof steel cabinets are in Germany.
In Hamburg there are rolling bookshelves in 100 VHH buses , where books can also be placed or removed. In Austria, too, a public bookcase was opened in Vienna in February and June 2010. In 2012, two weatherproof “book filling stations” opened around the clock in disused telephone boxes were built in Salzburg in 2012 and 10,000 books were exchanged in the first year. In Graz there are now more than 90 open bookshelves, some in telephone booths, in front of house entrances, in neighborhood centers and bars. In Basel, where public bookshelves have already been set up in cafés and meeting points, Switzerland's first public bookcase has been in place since June 2011.
Since then, specially built or redesigned, weatherproof bookcases have been created with funding from various agencies. Every citizen can place his books in these in order to offer them to other readers. You can take books out at any time and take them with you to read; Each user decides for himself whether to return, keep, swap or not. a. Individuals, foundations , Lions clubs , civic associations, and similar organizations; In Jülich , for example, there is an “Open bookcase e. V. "
Use and acceptance
In centrally located locations that are easily accessible and have enough people, the public bookcases are usually quickly accepted and gladly used. The risk of damage caused by vandalism , as has occurred in individual cases, can usually be countered by so-called “bookcase sponsors”, who pay constant attention to the condition of the bookcases and look after them.
The acceptance, motivation and user structure of public bookcases was researched in 2008, for example, by a study by the agricultural faculty / professorship for household and consumer economics at the University of Bonn . It was found that the system had developed as a remarkable alternative to the classic book trade. However, one could not speak of a classic swap exchange , but of a voluntary transfer. The survey of users revealed that regular use could be exemplary and similar supply systems for other goods would be desirable. Due to the good acceptance of this idea, a rapid spread of public bookcases in Germany can be observed. A durable and weatherproof construction promotes long-term usability.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Bonn Civic Foundation, it - with the support of the private Alanus Art College - asked users of the public bookcases in 2012 to tell their personal stories for and about the bookcase at various Bonn locations. The resulting and partially award-winning contributions were summarized and published.
variants
A modified version of the classic bookcase is in Oerlinghausen . There, the friends' association of the city library, together with the project group “Living Together / Social / Culture” of the local Agenda 21, set up a smaller bookcase on Simonsplatz. The special feature here is that the bookcase can be stocked with books from the so-called "book exchange market" if required. This exchange has been taking place every Saturday morning since 2007 in the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer -Haus in Oerlinghausen-Süd and works like a bookcase, i.e. free and public, but is larger and limited in time. Book requests can also be stored, the supervisors of the exchange compare them with the inventory.
In the Salbke district of Magdeburg, an unusually large building was created with the Salbke bookmark , which also fulfills urban planning tasks and supports several small, freely accessible book showcases. In a neighboring shop, the local citizens' association keeps more than 10,000 books ready at open hours, based on the principle of public bookcases.
In Marburg there is a public bookcase integrated into a café. The Marburg city library has switched to offering sorted out books instead of - as before - in elaborate junk events in a cupboard to take away free of charge. This variant of public bookcases obviously works through the day-to-day operation and social control of the users. In the protected area there is no need for sponsorship and there are no problems with weather protection.
In Münsingen , Baden-Württemberg , there are around 5,000 books available for free exchange and take away in an integrative restaurant, a meeting place. It also includes an exchange shelf for CDs and board games.
In Frankfurt (Oder) there has been a public bookshelf since November 2013 in the “Kunst & KulturWagen”, which is a converted QEK Junior caravan .
Model 02 of the BOKX bookcases by Hans-Jürgen Greve also has an additional art showcase at some locations. This is used as an exhibition space for art, and elsewhere as a kind of "bulletin board" for the city district.
In Munich's Au district there has been a walk-in bookcase since April 2017, built in the style of a garden tool shed. The book hut was initiated by members of the district committee of Au-Haidhausen , with the support of the parish Maria-Hilf , on whose property the book hut is placed in a niche in the street.
In Eltville am Rhein and in the district of Hattenheim there are book trolleys on the banks of the river. The principle is also a book stand open day and night. They are trailers with shelves. What is different is that users are asked to donate to an initiative in Burkina Faso that will buy glasses from them. The supervisors of the book trolleys take care of the inventory and also pass on the donations.
There is a general exchange shelf near the Dortmund harbor , which of course also contains books.
Since around 2011, disused telephone booths have been establishing themselves in many places as the ideal storage place for books to be exchanged, both in terms of size and safe protection from wind and weather.
Lists of bookcases
An overview of public bookcases can be found in the list of public bookcases . For the German-speaking countries, see:
- List of public bookcases in Germany
- List of public bookcases in Austria
- List of public bookcases in Switzerland
Public bookcase apps
- Maps of public bookcases at BookcaseFinder on Google Play and the App Store.
See also
Web links
- lesestunden.de - map -based directory of public bookcases with associated Android app
- OpenBookCase.org - card-based directory of public bookcases and giveboxes
- Tauschgnom.de - Directory of public bookcases
- Public bookcases on a map of Central Europe. The map is based on OpenStreetMap data.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Ragg: Book Crossing: Open bookcases in Bonn ( Memento from November 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) reticon report, April 2, 2006
- ^ Kulturserver Graz
- ↑ Rolf Dörlamm: Open library . Mainzer Allgemeine, June 1994
- ↑ The inventor of the bookcases works at the workshop meeting . In: HAZ.de , November 3, 2012
- ↑ Open bookcases. In: buergerstiftung-bonn.de. Retrieved December 4, 2013 .
- ^ 'Buchwald' - the first public bookshelf on the streets of Berlin . Press release. Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development, June 27, 2008
- ↑ Simply relaxing . ( Memento from November 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: vhhpvg.de
- ↑ open bookcase - Vienna. 2010, accessed February 8, 2010 .
- ↑ Literaturhaus Salzburg
- ↑ Open bookshelves. Sustainable in Graz
- ^ Public bookshelves.ch
- ↑ Media release of the Christoph Merian Foundation of June 14, 2011 ( Memento of January 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ this & that & a new bookcase. In: 3landinfo.blogspot.com
- ↑ Das JüLichT: Jülich quite “social”. In: das-juelicht.de , September 2, 2010
- ↑ Bookcase set on fire in Beuel. In: general-anzeiger-bonn.de. Retrieved July 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Kerstin Hilt, Sandra Bichler, Olga Reger, Michael-Burkhard Piorkowsky: The "Poppelsdorfer" bookcase - a strange supply system - short version of the results of the project "The usage behavior of the Poppelsdorfer bookcase". January 18, 1011 (PDF)
- ↑ Ulrike Klopp: Bonn "Community Furniture" - Study Object: Open Bookcase as a Social System. In: forsch / Bonner Universitäts-Nachrichten , 2/2009, p. 27 (PDF)
- ↑ Bettina Köhl: A cabinet for exposed books - The Bonn Community Foundation will open two more open-air libraries in the coming days. In: General-Anzeiger (Bonn) , November 20, 2008
- ↑ Your stories for the bookcase - For the 10th birthday of the Bonn Community Foundation. Website of the Civic Foundation Bonn (PDF)
- ↑ The app shows the way to the next bookshelf. In: mainpost.de. Retrieved June 21, 2020 .
- ↑ Heise Onlie: Bookcase Finder: App finds public bookcases.