CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

Fallen Trees Turned Into Public Bookcases in Berlin

Back in 2008, BAUFACHFRAU (a co-op of apprentices of forestry, carpentry, cabinetmaking, media design, printing and bookselling) sought to create the first public bookcase in Berlin, Germany.

Using fallen trees, they created a series of bookshelves using the trunk as a stand and housing for books. Dubbed the ‘Book Forest’, the public bookcase made books available to the public through a program called ‘Bookcrossing.’

The initiative was recognized as an official project of the UN-Decade 2008/2009 ‘Education for Sustainable Development’.

Click here for more photos of the Fallen Tree Bookcase

NYC Phone Booths Turned Into Free Mini Libraries

When was the last time you used a phone booth? Despite cell phones being as common as clothing, rarely-used metal phones booths still exist throughout New York City, but architect John Locke has created a clever way to give them new life.

Locke attached a pumpkin-orange set of shelves to an obsolete phone booth near 96th Street to create a mini, ultra-public library.

Click here for more photos!