Red telephone booth turned into world's "smallest library"

Nov 30, 2009, 13:36 GMT

   London - Villagers in southern Britain have found their own unique way of responding to the fast disappearance of the famous red telephone booth by turning theirs into the world's smallest library, media reports said Monday.

   The people of Westbury-sub-Mendip, in the south-western county of Somerset did not wish their red booth to fall victim to the advance of the mobile phone and saved it by buying it for a token pound (1.65 dollars) under a scheme offered by national provider British Telecom.

   They rallied together to put up shelves in the disused phone kiosk to transform it into a book exchange, offering anything from cookery books to classics and fairytales.

   The library never closes, as users simply stock it with a book they have read, swapping it for a book they haven't. It also offers CDs and DVDs and is illuminated at night for insomniacs.

   Westbury had successfully turned a 'piece of street furniture to a community service in constant use,' said councillor Bob Dolby. BT has sold off many of the landmark kiosks for use as showers, toilets or art installations around the world.