Free, Open Libaries

lamefrog said:
Dear Roger ,

I live part of the year in France and will be moving back semi-permanently in January (and yes, I have an active library card in my city)

I've always admired American public institutions (National Public Radio, public libraries, public theatre etc) if only because they operate under such adverse conditions .

Cordialement

Philippe
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Dear Philiippe,

Indisputably!

Is there a subscription charge? If so, what is it? And which city?

Amitiés,

Roger
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Philiippe,

Indisputably!

Is there a subscription charge? If so, what is it? And which city?

Amitiés,

Roger
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Dear Roger ,

The city is Nice and the bibliothèque (Nucéra) is located near the old city (vieux Nice) . There is no registration charge for residents.

Cordialement

Philippe
 
Here's one (from the Little Free Library site, which I believe is a not-for-profit operation):

Charter #79855
VIVAL ST JEAN DE SAUVES
PLACE DE LA MAIRIE
ST JEAN DE SAUVES , 86330
Lat: 46.841657
Long: 0.091095
 
Roger Hicks said:
Incidentally, how many books on photography, or featuring photography, has anyone found so for? For me, just one book of photographs and a handful of photographically illustrated books: mostly cookbooks and the occasional biography.

Cheers,

R.
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I live in an apartment. Residents frequently leave books for the taking by the garbage/recycle bins. Not quite a "little library" but still some interesting finds.
My most recent score was a promotional book commissioned by Mavi Jeans called "Denim by Magnum Photographers."

https://wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/mavi-jeans-magnum-photographers-denim-culture-book-10730867/
 
I see some of these around (Germany), pretty much on public land/in public buildings only. The funniest one has popped up on the university campus, with three actual libraries within 200m. But of course it serves a somewhat different purpose.

My problem is that most of the books in them are crap. Not surprisingly, the good ones get taken quickly and the bad ones remain forever - no-one dares throwing them out, they might turn out to be someone's treasure after all.
 
Venice Beach Little Free Library on Fuji C200
(there are actually about a dozen of them within the town)

 
"............most civilized people (Americans cheerfully included) prefer civilization to barbarism."

Has it been awhile since you visited the states Roger? Most of this country strikes me as decidedly uncivilized, and we have a true barbarian as a president, which is a slur to barbarians everywhere, but it's the best thing I can say about him in a family environment.

As far as I know, all public libraries are free in this country, and you can ck out magazines, books, DVD's, CD's, audio books, etc. One can even ck out musical instruments and art prints to hang on your wall in the library where I live, which is pretty cool. Last week they were showing a good film for free, and they have been featuring free live music in the main library this whole month around lunch time. Computers are free to use as well.

The only people I know of that complain about taxes are the wealthy, which is ironic, as they have crooked accountants to help them dodge paying them. Myself, I prefer the little libraries in people's yards because they never close, and I am not a fan of bureaucracies. The pure randomness of what you will find is neat also. They are true free spirit enterprises. Don't like the book you got? Throw it away or use it for kindling. I generally use the crappy books for weights to place on my wavy watercolours as they dry.
 
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