Raziye Akkoc -
Many would prefer probably not to dwell on what becomes of books thrown into the rubbish bin when their onetime reader declutters their shelves.
In the Turkish capital Ankara, however, discarded books need not necessarily end up heading for a papery oblivion.
Instead, a surprising life after death is now in store for them thanks to a rather unconventional library.
A group of the city’s rubbish collectors has set up the library boasting thousands of works that would otherwise have been swallowed up by landfill.
The books had been left out on residential streets together with other refuse for collection, sparking the idea to recycle them for a whole new readership.
Opened more than seven months ago by one district’s garbage collectors and their manager, the library is housed in a disused brick factory that was already serving as a base for the workers.
The once decaying plant, abandoned 20 years ago, is now a thriving space where staff can spend their break perusing the shelves stacked with some 4,750 books.
Originally intended just for the refuse workers and their families so they could borrow books for up to 15 days, it is now open to the public too, said Emirali Urtekin, the site’s manager, whose office is equipped with other rescued items like magazines and a typewriter.
There are another nearly 1,500 books yet to be placed on the shelves as more are rescued and now donated, he added.
No book goes to waste, with some of the nonusable books employed as shelves for the others.
The renovated building — where even copper pipes find a use as lights — is also home to a barber’s shop, cafeteria, social area and offices for administrative staff.
The books have so far been sorted into 17 categories, and counting, ranging from romance novels, economics textbooks, thrillers and children’s fiction.
The library boasts a variety of works by top foreign and Turkish authors, including JK Rowling, Charles Dickens, JRR Tolkien, Orhan Pamuk and EL James.
It’s accessible 24 hours a day for the refuse workers and has its own librarian, paid by the municipality: 20-year-old Eray Yilmaz. — AFP
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