The mobile library was born thanks to the initiative of a passionate lover of literature. Gabriel Levinson is not quite an angel, but he’s considered in Chicago to be a sort of messiah, who guarantees, in part, the sustainability of neighborhood bookshops with his cheery Book Bike.
Since summer 2008, this book and bike lover, has canvassed Chicago’s parks in search of people who might devour the hundreds of books he carts around on his custom bike, usually on fair weather weekends.
3000 books distributed in 2 years
In two years and after several outings on his quirky tricycle, Gabriel Levinson has given away more than 3000 free books. It’s not that he wants to rid his library of old books, rather, he aims to make all people, whatever their age or background, want to read, acquire books, and discover the literary scene of the third largest city in the United States. This spontaneous initiative could not have begun without the books, which were generously donated by publishers that Levinson approached about his non-profit.
Today, people either love it or ignore it: “Those who ignore me think I’m selling something and walk on by,” says Levinson. “Our society has a stigma that if something is free, there must be a catch. It’s a funny and sad state of affairs. ”
The young graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in literary fiction from Columbia College Chicago hopes others will emulate his initiative wherever possible: “I challenge the world. This is an easy challenge to rise to as there are many ways to improve on this idea; again, you are only limited to what you can dream.”
Encourage reading little-known literature…
Levinson, just 27 years old, does not plan on taking a back seat. At the beginning of his literary journey, he accepted all books, even those of larger publishers. Today, he wishes to promote independent publishing houses, as well as local bookstores, victims of public disaffection: ” The books range from zines to big-name publishers, but the important part is that these are books bought from local booksellers.” says Levinson. For the first time, he is accepting donations that will allow him to acquire these books by lesser-known authors and redistribute them to the public, hopping that this surprising action will encourage his audience to more regularly scour the shelves of nearby bookstores.
In the near future, Gabriel Levinson aims to introduce his traveling library to other American cities, on what he is calling his Book Bike Tour. For that, he waits for a generous donor or a few readers who already believe in the benefits of the project.
When the powers that be get involved
In early July, the Book Bike caused a bit of a stir. The local press reported Levinson’s encounter with a park officer in Chicago who forbade him to distribute books without authorization. Thankfully, the library of Chicago came to his rescue, offering to vouch for and formalize his initiative. And it is they who have thus ensured a happy ending for Levinson, sparing him licensing fees and a labyrinth of Kafkaesque bureaucracy.
Follow the blog of Gabriel Levinson : www.bookbike.org
Make a donation : www.bookbike.org/donate
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Credits : David Miller
Translated by Genny Cortinovis
