A group of Turkish bin men who saw books being dumped for landfill have taken our #WhyBooksMatter ethos to new heights.
The refuse workers in Ankara started hoarding books for employees and their families to borrow. But their mini-library got so popular they soon had a 6,000-strong book collection – and had to expand their shelves.
So they transformed an empty brick factory near their HQ and filled it up not only with books but also a lounge for readers and a chess board for visitors. The community now flocks to the library after it opened its doors to the public in September.
“Before, I wished that I had a library in my house. Now we have a library here,” said bin man Serhat Baytemur.
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— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) December 15, 2017