Los Libros Libres de Calle Loíza
Take one, leave one, share worlds.
The wafting smell of garlic, rich and buttery pools in your nostrils on the inconspicuous corners of Calle Loíza, a bustling corridor in San Juan’s Parque neighborhood. A white-walled cafe with bespoke ceramic-ware that might be found in the West Village dots the corner opposite a bus stop plastered with old Spanish stickers while next door, reused shipping containers serve food to a trendy outdoor seating space.
Only steps from the edge of ritzier Condado, Calle Loíza’s largest pedestrian traffic jam builds; the southern sidewalk seems to be gluing people to the pavement. Well, it’s not, but the reason to stop is equally adhesive.
Dozens of red and blue milk crates turned on their sides and stacked six high line the wall of the building. Their vibrancy is magnified by the mural they partially obscure and the numerously colored spines they contain. It’s books that fill the bins, stretching the entire block and tipping over onto each other like dominos.
Browsing customers hold them in their hands, but it’s not clear which are coming and which are going — the books, that is. The crates aren’t there to contain, only to facilitate, as the Libros Libres lending library pulses with an influx and outflow of all sorts of books throughout the day.
Take one and leave one; take more and leave more; take one and bring one back another time; leave old ones behind.
The only rules are as posted, keep the area organized, clean, and the books in the shelves. No boxes, no encyclopedias, no garbage, and no magazines.
Language is no barrier, you’ll find books as diverse as Boricuas themselves. A glance will capture Spanish, English, Greek, and more among the shelves. Subjects range from mathematics textbooks to the latest Jonathan Franzen novel, a pronunciation guide to the Spanish and English languages or a Christian guide to marriage counseling.
The mission of Libros Libres? Promote cultural development, a love of reading, creativity, and commitment to community through a collaborate maintenance of the library.
“The emphasis is on freedom: to get to know neighbors through sharing reading; to walk in the city without fear; to resist the rampant consumerism that led to the large-scale abandonment and urban blight of our neighborhoods; to trust in the street; to do things differently without the need for an exchange of money” (Libros Libres).
The books are libres, “free”, not gratis “free” [of charge]. There are no managers and no requirements beyond respect and responsibility. The function of the library depends on the commitment to enriching the lives of those in the neighborhood. A second shelf can be found in another Santurce sub-barrio on Avenida Ponce de León, serving the same function.
The library’s model is far from unique. In fact, it’s less about what’s in the shelves — swap books for food or children’s toys or women’s period supplies and you’ll find a replication somewhere. The notability isn’t in books, although there’s worlds to be had within each of the numerous covers on the Libros shelves, it’s in the repetitive and observable movement to community strength. It’s a model replicated across cultures, continents, and contents.
It’s notability is just that, its replicability! The movement by people everywhere to care for one another and the wellbeing of the places in which they operate.
It’s openness, both physical and theoretical, reminds us that strong communities are not always insular. The normative power of trust and kindness does not rely on a safety net of insulation, and so the books remain open for neighbors and travelers and passing feet of all kinds.
If you’re visiting San Juan, stop by to browse the books themselves, and notice the people browsing, too. Books are for all. If you’re in the open air library and have respect tucked between your pages, the books can be for you too. You don’t even need to touch a book to leave Libros Libres with inquisitiveness or satisfaction. The shelves grow only richer with each exchange of worlds.
Take one, leave one, and let the books hold near what you’ve brought from afar.
Happy reading!