Open Stacks
The library today is the new civic center, and the Little Free Library movement brings that civic mode out into the city right there to the sidewalk with you.
2013
The library today is the new civic center, and the Little Free Library movement brings that civic mode out into the city, right there on the sidewalk with you, engaging new interactions between fellow readers. In 1905 University Settlement’s collection of 6500 books inaugurated the collection of the Carnegie “Free to All” Library next door at 61 Rivington Street. In 2013 our Little Free Library returns (and redistributes) the favor, using what is usually the barrier of the urban fence to keep others out as a way now to be able to reach into and out from, in a civic redistribution of the borders of what is public. Our Open Stacks form as a framing around the University Settlement noticeboard, with a higher stack on the left for adults, shifting down to a lower stack for children, and towering up as a sign on the right.
Design: Mark Rakatansky Studio with Aaron White
Fabrication Assistance: Timbur LLC
Installation Assistance: D-cor Design Works LLC
Host: University Settlement
Donor: Writers House
This project is a joint effort between The Architectural League of New York and PEN World Voices Festival, and realized in collaboration with Little Free Library LTD.
