The Garden Library is a outdoor library that exists in Lewinsky Park in Tel Aviv. It is the brainchild of ARTEAM, an Israeli nonprofit group, composed of artists. They saw a need for an open-air library in the park to allow the families of migrant workers and refugees access to books. Staffed by volunteers, the Garden Library is only open on the weekends. While the time they are open is limited, their collection is not. They have books for adults and children in 16 different languages - ranging from Bengali, English, French, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Romanian, etc.
To receive a "library card" all that is required is a 30 shekel refundable deposit (about $7.50). For those who have no money, they are free to sit there and read a book to their heart's content. The Garden Library is unique in that when it's open for "business" the walls that normally protect the books, now become the floors upon which the children can sit down and read on. Right now the library has a collection of about 3,500 books, with two large bookshelves - one for adults and one for children.
What is really novel (no pun intended) about the library is that the books are all shelved according to "emotion". No Library of Congress or Dewey Decimal cataloging system here. Instead, inside each book is a sticker asking for the reader's review - How would you describe the book? Book review choices include: amusing, boring, bizarre, depressing, exciting, inspiring, and sentimental. Books are then shelved according to the applicable emotion sticker. Hmm... sounds a little complicated to me, but maybe with their group of library patrons it works.
I think it's just awesome that local artists in Tel Aviv teamed up to create such a unique resource for their community. Since the Jewish people have always been known as "The People of The Book", it seems like Israelis are helping others to be the same.
