I can’t remember the last time I used a pay phone. It might have been in high school. Since they’re not getting a lot of public use anymore, it’s cool to see some New York pay phones getting a literary update.

John Locke (I’m going to imagine him like this) is the man behind the project. He hopes that people will pick up a book while they’re about down, or maybe drop a another off when they’re done with it. One part of the project I find especially cool:

Is there any screening process for the books? For instance, do you try to include great works of literature, or perhaps focus on more accessible and popular novels?

I want everything and anything. I don’t have much of a budget, so all the books are donated from people that live nearby and off my own shelves, so everything from Oprah-approved to Jane Jacobs. And obviously as people leave their own books, I’d want the collection to become a record of the interests of that particular site. A next site I have in mind is near a public school, and I’m trying to get a good collection of children’s books.

I’d be interested to see what books kids share without any guidance from adults. School libraries are obviously fantastic, but something about children being able to run their own library really intrigues me.

Make sure to check out the full interview with Locke. Have any of you seen any pop-up libraries around town?