Pop up libraries

A while back I was talking with my grandmother, now in her late 80s, about what her life was like growing up. She described living on a farm, gathering eggs in the morning, tending the garden, and making trips into town for big celebrations. It struck me that a lot of how she grew up has been re-imagined generations later as a bit of a hipster ideal, with "farm-to-table" restaurants and simple, eco -living aesthetics.

Sometimes, it's just about taking something classic and traditional and presenting it in a new way.

I see this in the re-imagining of libraries lately. While this doesn't necessarily coincide with "new tech," it does take a few pages from the street and mobile marketing playbooks and apply them to what could easily top the list of most boring places to go: The library.

A "Pop Up" Library makes the concept of a library cool again by turning unexpected places into a mini- and short term library.

• My lead photo shows someone turning a mailbox into a library.
• There is a bus that travels the city I live in and sets up shop on random corners, posing as a "mobile" library.
• PSFK reported today on a 16th century Turkish bath house that has been converted into a temporary contemporary art library as part of the Urban Dreams Festival in Bulgaria. The pictures they post are beautiful.
• PLG @Simmons has a fantastic Pinterest board highlighting images of pop up libraries from around the web.

There are countless creative options for turning something into a pop up library, and I think that's why it's striking. With the publishing industry continuing to grow the ebook market and chase new models of digital books, it's equally compelling to see traditional book forms reimagined and presented in fresh ways.

Have you seen a pop up book library? Or do you have an idea for one?

Image courtesy of PLG @Simmons via Pinterest