Bowraville local has set up a Street Library on North Arm Road

Locals who stop at the roadside stall for the North Arm community’s fresh produce can also look for some free literature to digest.

The quirky little bookcase in Bowraville was created by Karen Holloway after she heard about the global movement on the radio.

“Bowraville is such a special place and I wanted to do this to help promote community spirit and cooperation. It’s free and it’s a bit of fun,” Karen said.

“There’s no point keeping books on a shelf, they should be read and circulated.

“I salvaged the bookcase, so it didn’t cost me anything apart from a few cans of spray paint.

After painting the old bookcase, Karen superglued the lamp to it and got her father-in-law to help her nail it to the fence, before stocking the shelves with old cookbooks, children’s stories and pre-loved novels.

Karen says she’s had a great reception to her library so far, with other people from Bowraville and Scotts Head planning to build their own.

“So we might see them popping up all over the community,” Karen said.

“There’s been people come and take books and drop books off. [local author] Karly Lane came and dropped off one of her new books too.”

While the Little Free Library movement started in America, Nic Lowe began Street Library in Sydney in November 2015 and the movement has been rapidly expanding across the country ever since.

In fact there are now well over 100 street libraries around Australia.

The movement’s motto is ‘borrow a book, lend a book’, so anyone who might have some finished books lying around is encouraged to donate them to the library and perhaps find a new literary gem to take with them. 

“They are a symbol of trust and hope – a tiny vestibule of literary happiness,” Nic said.

Anyone wishing to make and install their own Street Library can learn more by visiting the website.