They come in the form of old fridges, repurposed kitchen cupboards and even doll houses - and their numbers are exploding.
A rare site in Canberra until only a few years ago, the city is now home to more than 180 suburban street libraries, where neighbours use an honesty system to swap books of all kinds with each other.
The Little Street Library concept was founded in America by the late Todd Bol, and has since exploded with popularity all around Australia. There are currently around 3700 street libraries in the country, nearly 200 of which are in the national capital.
Pamela Zielke, who runs Pam's Pantry and gives away toys, books and craft supplies for kids, is the proud guardian of one. An early childhood educator and lover of books, Ms Zielke started her street library with the goal of rescuing books from the dump and reminding children of the joy of reading physical copies.
"We are a throw-away society, but I just love physical books," she said.
"My children never really knew their grandparents, but one of my sons was able to keep a copy of my mother's book, which he has since passed on to his girls.
"There is just something about the feel and smell of a physical book."
Ms Zielke said the street library had played a particularly important role in keeping the local community connected throughout the pandemic.
"One lady took some cook books for her husband after he lost his job during the pandemic, and he learned how to make lots of different kinds of food," she said.
"He liked it so much he decided to apply for an apprenticeship, and now he is a cook. They even dropped off some of the meals he made back to me."
At 34 Bargang Crescent, Ngunnawal, Pam's Pantry has books for children, teens and occasionally adults, a selection of toys always available, and often has themed displayed for the coming seasons. She is currently planning a Mother's Day display for busy mums and their children.
While putting up a library in your front yard was entirely voluntary, Street Libraries is a not-for-profit organisation that displays registered libraries on a map to make them easy to locate for people all over Australia.
Founder of Street Libraries Nic Lowe travelled to Portland, Oregon six years ago, where he discovered the Little Street Libraries and brought the idea back to home. The first one was started in Newtown in Sydney before spreading throughout the country.
General manager of Street Libraries Cecile Schuldiener said while the pick-up of Street Libraries in Australia was slow to begin with, the pandemic encouraged growth and community connection for people who couldn't go much further than their suburbs.
"The libraries encouraged people to meet others in their community," she said.
"It's a great ice-breaker for people with shared interests. Street Libraries are an easy way to meet like minded people in your area."
Patrons for the organisation include the likes of Tim Winton, Candice Fox and Waleed Aly.
Open to anyone and accepting all kinds of books, the libraries are designed to encourage literacy and a love of reading in the community, and togetherness within the suburbs. Passers-by, regardless of whether they live close to the library or not, can drop off books they no longer need, and pick up any that spark their interest.
Want to get involved? Here is a list of a small portion of the many street libraries located around Canberra.
Belconnen: 64 libraries in total
- Holden RallyTeam - Aranda Street Library: located at 21 Gingana Street Aranda.
- William Webb Street Library: located at 10 William Webb Drive Evatt.
- Kinchela Cresent Library: located at the corner of Kinchela Crescent and and Stonor Place Latham.
- Groot's Street Library: located at 127 Ross Smith Crescent Scullin.
- Dishwasher on Copland Drive: located at the corner of Copland Drive and MacDonald Place Spence.
Gungahlin: 17 libraries in total
- Take a Chance on our Cracey books: located at 83 Chance Street Crace.
- Ashton Calvert Community Library: located at 26 Ashton Calvert Street Casey.
- Lavender Lil Street Library: located at 2 Gurrang Avenue Ngunnawal.
- Nyja Bug's Street Library: located at 103 Samaria Street Crace.
- Pam's Pantry: located at 34 Bargang Crescent Ngunnawal.
North Canberra: 21 libraries in total
- Downer Book Exchange: located at Downer Preschool, 19 Cotton Street Downer.
- A National Capital Little Library: located at the bike path between David Street and MacArthur Avenue O'Conner.
- Reading on Hargraves: located at 16 Hargraves Crescent Ainslie.
- Hard copy: located at 42 Mackennal Street Lyneham.
- Stop and Swap Library: located at 33 McCawley Street Watson.
South Canberra: 10 libraries in total
- Yellow Library on Barron: located at 15 Barron Street Deakin.
- Galway Street Library: located at 11 Galway Place Deakin.
- The Lil Green Box: located at 5 Blaxland Crescent Griffith.
- Black Cat Street Library: located at the corner of Discovery Street and Monaro Crescent Narrabundah.
- Hampton Circuit Library: located at 68 Hampton Circuit Yarralumla.
Weston Creek and Molonglo Valley: 25 libraries in total
- Chapman Lil Street Library: located at 30 Sidaway Street Chapman.
- Stromlo Garden Library: located at 79 Ulysses Circuit Wright.
- Nemarang Crescent Book Exchange: located at 18 Nemarang Crescent Waramanga.
- Bangalay Street Library: located at 37 Bangalay Crescent Rivett.
- Hyndes Crescent Street Library: located at 4 Hyndes Crescent Holder.
Woden: 22 libraries in total
- Books for the World - Kitchener Street Library: located at 14 Kitchener Street Hughes.
- The TARDIS Free Street Library: located at 14 Maurice Place Garran.
- Chifley Shops Street Library: located at Chifley Place.
- MacFarland Crescent Community Library: located at 15 MacFarland Crescent Chifley.
- Woden Plaza Street Library: located at Bradley Street near San Churro in Phillip.
Tuggeranong: 30 libraries in total
- Opal Street Library: located at 2 Opal Street Banks.
- Ah Mouy Place Library: located at 8 Ah Mouy Place Kambah.
- The Book Retriever: 18 Greeves Street Wanniassa.
- The 'We Love Lanyon' Street Library: located at Gordon Community Centre, 110 Lewis Luxton Avenue Gordon.
- The Isabella Book Tank: located at 1/89 Werriwa Crescent Isabella Plains.
These are only a small number of the many libraries in Canberra. For the full list, look towards this link.
