The red phone box that has become Britain's smallest library | Mail Online

The red phone box that has become Britain's smallest library

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:01 PM on 01st December 2009

• Comments (23)
• Add to My Stories

Cunning villagers have found a novel way to cope with the shortage of libraries in their area by turning an old red phone box into a book exchange.

The former BT phone kiosk has been transformed from a telephone exchange to Britain's smallest library by cunning residents and now stocks around 100 titles.

Villagers rallied together to set up the book box after their mobile library service was cancelled.

Book box: Villagers in the Somerset village of Westbury-sub-Mendip wait in line to use the country's smallest library which was converted from an old red phone box

Happy reading: The phone box now houses titles from cooking books to the classics and blockbusters to children's books

The parish council purchased the box, a Giles Gilbert Scott K6 design, for £1, and residents in the Somerset village of Westbury-sub-Mendip put up wooden shelves inside and donated their own books.

The phone box now houses titles from cooking books to the classics and blockbusters to children's books.

More...

• Libraries to lend books by post to stop service 'sleepwalking into the iPhone era'
• Council chiefs who mistakenly banned 6-inch garden gnomes over 'elf and safety' say sorry

‘It has really taken off,’ Parish councillor Bob Dolby told The Guardian.

‘Turnover is rapid and there's a good range of books, everything from reference books to biographies and blockbusters.’

Reinvented: The box was bought for £1 and residents put up wooden shelves inside and donated their own books while a located business supplied the signs

Meanwhile resident Angela Buchanan was also full of praise for the book box.

'It's such a brilliant idea,' she said. 'Our nearest library is Wells, four miles away, so if you don't want to go into the town but have run out of something to read, it's great you can use this.

'All sorts of interesting books turn up – manuals, picture books, good literary novels.’

The phone box library is open every day for 24 hours and is lit at night. There is a regular check on it to see if some titles are not moving. These are then shipped on to a charity shop to keep the phone box collection fresh.

BT has received 770 applications for communities to 'adopt a kiosk' and so far 350 old boxes have been handed to parish councils.

via dailymail.co.uk

Posted via web from neternity's posterous