https://mymodernmet.com/street-books-laura-moulton-portland/
"To you and me, libraries are the place we go if the bookstore doesn't
have a certain book we're looking for, or perhaps the place we go when
we need to wait out the rain. For many in the homeless community,
however, libraries are institutions of luxury. Libraries require an ID
and a home address in order for a patron to be eligible for a library
card, leaving those living on the streets out of luck. Laura Moulton, an
artist and adjunct professor of Creative Nonfiction in Portland, Oregon,
thought that this was just wrong. Everyone should have the right to
read, no matter if you have a home address or not. With some grant help
from Kickstarter, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and the Awesome
Foundation, Moulton's non-profit bicycle-powered street library called
Street Books took to the Portland pavement in 2011.
Every week, Moulton and a handful of other volunteer “Street Librarians”
ride their book-filled bicycles to designated spots around town, where
they set up shop, though no money is exchanged in the process. “We keep
the same time and same place each week so [patrons] can easily return
the books,” Moulton says in a documentary by NationSwell. Patrons, most
of them who are homeless or somehow on the margins of the mainstream
Portland community, are told that they may keep the book for as long as
necessary. If, by chance, their paths don't ever cross Street Books
again, patrons are asked to pass the book onto others, so as to create a
never-ending library of giving. When asked why she chose to provide
books rather than money or clothing, Moulton explains, “Because there's
a freedom that comes from kind conversations about books.” She's
building a bridge via literature and providing the chance for those who
struggle from homelessness to think about something else for a moment."
Via Stuart Richman and Richard Healy.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
