Treehugger Homework: Start a Library at Work

Ideally, all of us would go to the library often, but since to most of us it is out of the way, we tend to read less than we would if we had a convenient book-source (if only to remind us). Fortunately, there is a simple solution, and it is something that most people who work in an office-type of environment can implement: A "community" office library. You can have a loan system as simple or complicated as you want, it doesn't matter as long as you find a shelf somewhere and get people to bring some of the books that they have already read and don't mind lending.We've heard about people who have tried the experiment and it has been overwhelmingly positive: they now read more than they used to, spend less money on books and those that they do buy are read by more people (which means less trees cut), and they even have started discussing literature at work!

A loaning system could be as simple as leaving a binder in the shelf with a list of books. When someone takes a book, he writes his name and email next to the title of the book in the list so that he can be tracked back if need be. You could even put an "opinion" space next to each book title so that people can leave comments, opinions, suggestions of related books, etc.

Such a system would probably even encourage people who almost never read to pick up a book. For once, "going with the flow" would be a positive thing.

If you try the experiment, drop us a word in the comments. We want to hear from you.

::Treehugger Homework: Stop Engine Idling, ::Discussion: Investing in Efficiency - Car or House?, ::Treehugger Homework: Drive The Speed Limit, ::Treehugger Homework: Unplug Your Cellphone Charger