The Curious Telephone Box Library

I found this little gem while walking through my part of London yesterday evening in Brockley, Loampit Hill.

Somebody was already inside, browsing through the books that had been left by local strangers. This requires a lot of trust from the public. There are, of course, no scanners at the door and no one to tell you when to bring the book back. Yet, the shelves seemed to be absolutely overflowing with books.

This little library is open 24/7 with a built-in light. It was renovated by a man called Sebastian Handley and I think he's a pretty awesome man for doing this for the local community.

This part of London isn't exactly the safest, but this project appears to have worked well - even in this area.

Upon entering, the space was surprisingly not cramped. There was plenty of space for both of us. The books ranged from Dan Brown to The History of Castles to cookbooks, children's books, general fiction, autobiographies and everything in between. There were nice little notes all around.

I was greeted with a message on the ceiling that read...

"It's not what you get, but what you leave behind"

There are two rules. If you take a book, replace it with another. If you wish to borrow a book, you are trusted to return it within a reasonable amount of time.

I'd love to see more of these throughout the city! What a great find.