While I was at the West Side Market yesterday, I noticed an open-air vendor event across W 25th Street from the market. This market had a number of vendors and even a band! But one thing that caught my attention was this thing called a “BookBox”. When I got to the event, the box was closed. However, I researched what it was… and it’s a pretty cool concept!
Apparently, the Cleveland Public Library has, as of this summer, begun a new concept: a portable reading room. This room took 6 months to be designed by an architect. It’s made of galvanized metal and reclaimed wood. It opened July 21st and has 200 books inside on its back shelves along with free wi-fi and laptops to use at the site. The BookBox is scheduled to appear in the Market Square District where I was Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 9am to 1pm. It visits populated street fairs and similar events.
Although the BookBox is meant to promote the CPL and utilizes energy to run Internet and laptops, I thought it was worth mentioning because of its efforts to involve the community and families in education. ALSO, not only is its box made from recycled materials, but the books the BookBox hosts are about cooking and urban agricultural, amongst other topics relevant to open-air market customers and artists who fit that atmosphere. The box is 13’x9’ x7’ big and an interesting way to quietly promote locavore topics in the city districts!
Here are pictures of the box and surrounding vendors at the street fair:
Read more here: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/08/library-services/cleveland-new-york-gain-portable-reading-rooms/
A Greener Cleveland 