BookCrossing | Hacker News Reader

BookCrossing

bookcrossing.com

29 pointsTomte13 comments

In Germany it’s common to see public/community bookcases where one can drop or pick up books free-of-charge. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Public_bookcas...

Yeah, we have several in my city. It used to be, that those were full of book crossing stickers, but I think that pretty much died out and people just put books in there without any (manual) tracking codes ;)

In France too, it's super common to find public bookcases in parks.

In the UK many smaller hotels have a public bookshelf where guests can swap their holiday reading

Is it public in a way that even those not staying in the hotel can leave and/or get books from it?

Not really - the bookshelf might be in the guest lounge or similar - typically a room with a seating area adjacent to the bar. The last place I saw one the bookshelf was on the stairwell to the rooms, where non-residents wouldn't be expected to go.

Sounds cool but I dont see this adapting where I live - although I wish I’m wrong.

What we do in Scotland (mainly in small villages or towns) is to turn old non working telephone boxes into libraries. We do a lot of camping with the kids every year and it’s a great way to discover some books. I always take some with me in case we come across any “telephone box libraries” so I can leave some too.

https://minitravellers.co.uk/phone-box-libraries-in-the-uk/

I like this initiative. We have two BookCrossing locations in my town in Tuscany and I myself have come across a few hidden gems.

Not to be a humbug, but does anyone else view this as glorified littering? It seems to me an abuse of the commons.

BX is great! I used to participate in the San Francisco one, which used to have monthly meetups. The demographics skew heavily female, however.

One of the most interesting idea I have seen in a while. Gonna try it out.

Also look at postcrossing.com

Good to still it’s still going since launching in 2001.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com