The Library of Unread Books: A Space for Once Neglected Books to Find New Life Comes to Dubai
Some love reading books, others love buying them, but not all who buy books read them. The Library of Unread Books, which is running from November 16, 2019, to January 31, 2020, at Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, is a place for books that were donated by people who did not get the chance to read them.
The library, which includes over 700 books, is an itinerant library that was initiated by artist Heman Chong and producer and librarian Renée Staal.
“The idea came to Renée and I when we realized that many of our friends are in the habit of buying lots of books and for one reason or another, not reading them immediately and in many instances, never ever going to read them. We like to tap into this resource of unread books as a way of opening up possibilities for someone else to read their books for them. We are always surprised about the books we get. Some books are really amazing! We realize that there’s always a personal reason why someone didn’t read a book,” said Chong.
Chong highlighted that opening books up to the public and forming connections between strangers, is an expression of generosity.
Unlike traditional libraries, The Library of Unread Books has “no indexing system, no categories. It’s a real mess! And in this mess, people will encounter something that they might not intentionally want to read, but will. So, every encounter is surprising,” explained Chong.
In an age where Netflix is the most-favored pastime, it’s great that people are coming together to read.
Contributors to the library receive a personalized library card and a lifetime membership.
Chong hopes that The Library of Unread Books would enter the collection of a museum, where they would continue to run it as a library.
