Designed by Nomi Design, the "tiny libraries" will be placed in 50 locations throughout the city by spring 2018. The boxes will initially be stocked by the Friends of the Library, with community members encouraged to take a book and/or leave one in its place as they wish.
The Lexington Public Library is expanding its reach in the local community with a new city-wide program designed to get more books in the hands of local readers. Aiming to bring the “take a book, leave a book” concept to new audiences, the Tiny Library program launched today with the installation of book exchange boxes at three Hope Center locations. The program hopes to install a total of 50 of these boxes throughout the city by spring 2018.
Thirty of the boxes will be placed in pre-selected public sites, including churches, non-profit organizations, city parks and community centers, while the remaining 20 boxes will be awarded to individuals and organizations next spring.
Made of steel, wood and plexiglass, the “tiny libraries” are both elegant and durable, according to Lexington Public Library media relations coordinator Doug Tattershall. Designed and donated by local architecture firm Nomi Design, the 5-foot-tall book exchange boxes can hold about 35-40 books each. The company first partnered with the library for the 2016 Reimagining the Civic Commons project, initiated in partnership with the Bluegrass Community Foundation, and according to Nomi owner and principal architect Matthew Brooks, the Tiny Library program fit into the company’s community-driven mission.
“It is a mission of Nomi to work on one or more projects annually that are community focused and where we can donate our skills as designers and makers,” Brooks said. “That, coupled with the energy of the Library and their willingness to accept a unique design, is always a draw to any project.”
While the organization Friends of the Library will initially stock the book exchange boxes with a mix of magazines and books for all ages, the inventory will ultimately be determined by the community of users, who will be asked to leave a book whenever they take one.
“There will be a different set of books in each library, and as more and more people use it, there will be an ever-changing set of books,” Tattershall said. The public is invited to contribute to the project by donating books to any library location, or by signing up to sponsor a box at $250 per installation.
According a statistic Tattershall quoted, nearly 30 percent of Americans haven’t read a book of any kind in the past year – something the Tiny Library Program hopes to change in the Lexington community.
“People who read are more likely to exercise, more likely to advance in their careers, and more likely to be civically engaged,” Tattershall explained. “The ultimate goal is to get more people reading.”
Parties interested in applying for their own Tiny Library can submit an application online at lexpublib.org/tinylibrary between Oct. 18 and Dec. 1. For more info, email tinylibrary@lexpublib.org.