Hidden within a hutong near Yonghegong Lama Temple, the Civilian Mobile Library stands out among the rows of old buildings, exuding a peaceful aura.
With the motto ‘reading changes you; you change the world’ in mind, the library claims to donate books to people throught the world to encourage reading. They allow anyone to walk in and pick up a book for free, with the idea that you pass it on once you have finished with it.
Though the books are free, quality is not compromised. When asked how to donate books, the staff emphasise they only accept quality books with good content. True enough, there are no low-brow books (comics, cheap romance novels etc) in sight and most of what they have looks brand new.
The main browsing area is just a small room with bookshelves lining the three walls. Books are arranged neatly according to categories: history, business management, classics and so on.
Currently, most of the selection is Chinese books, with a few foreign-language books here and there. However, we hope they’ll see an increase in foreign-language books as more people find out about the place and donate their books to the library.