Books by and for independent women

The Travelling Suitcase Library

Our gorgeous guest contributor Jess Haigh, last seen here fangirling over Flora Poste from Cold Comfort Farm, is also the wonder woman behind the ingenious idea of the Travelling Suitcase Library. Excited and intrigued at the sound of it, we asked her to tell us more:

I would not describe myself as a ‘prolific’ reader. There are some bloggers on the net that really do put me to shame. I have read hardly any of the classics properly and never really get into the latest releases. I do however love books. For me, it is not so much the writing itself, but the physical thing. I love the feel of them, the weight of them in my arm. I love re-arranging them on shelves, putting them in series order: then height: then by author surname. Learning the Dewey Decimal System in my role as a library assistant brought a whole new level to my book-mania. For the past six months, I have been trailing a small blue two-wheeled suitcase. The Suitcase is the home of a new project, designed with readers in mind, called the Travelling Suitcase Library; and it is exactly what it says on the tin. I aim to provide a library service that brings the books to the people, and means that I get to spend a great deal of time talking about, ranting about and generally pawing over books.

The Travelling Suitcase Library itself was born though me having too many books for my living space, and my friends being sick of me hounding them to read more-I clearly needed an outlet for my bibliophilia! The manager of my local, Arcadia, which is in my (and Leeds CAMRA’s) opinion the best pub in Leeds, was kind enough to let me set up a little library of books one Sunday, the intention being to meet other people who also loved books and maybe set up a book group (I am already a member of a small but perfectly-formed book group with friends, which has its own blog here). Maybe because we had given everybody two days notice, but the book club idea was not a massive success, however, lots of people were interested in borrowing the books. Lots of people wanted to buy them, but I am not a book seller, and do not want to make any money, so instead set up a borrowing system.

It is based entirely on trust, people are, in my experience, generally lovely, and as lovely people they would not want to prevent anyone from not being able to read a great book by not bringing them back, now would they. People can either bring the books back to me directly (I send an email round telling people where I’m going to be) or just return the book to the pub whenever. And if I lose a few books, I lose a few books, no biggie, I’ve already read them. You never know, that book might end up on someone’s bathroom floor to be picked up by a housemate who’s never read a book in their life before and completely turn their life around! The whole point was getting more people to talk about reading, books and what they love openly and honestly in community spaces- and yes I do believe a pub is a community space- without having any pressure to complete targets or have audit trails reminiscent of so many “community” schemes. No one profits from this, and so everybody does. All I want to do is what I love doing, and what I am so fortunate to do for a living, in more spaces, with more people.

Most people seem to think it’s a great idea- though more are puzzled as to the ‘why’ aspect. Since the Suitcase started on its mission in February, I have visited Arcadia on the second Sunday of every month. This has turned into a bit of a book-swap event now, with people coming from all over Leeds to talk about books and what they are reading, and to pick up some old and new classics- I am currently working my way through a complete set of Joseph Conrad that a recently graduated Eng Lit student never wanted to see again in their life! Yes, dragging a suitcase full of books is great for the old shoulder muscles, but I feel quite lost without it! Anyone in the Leeds area who thinks that as wide a range of books as I can fit into a suitcase (I can try to cater for your tastes as much as possible) would be a good thing for your venue, I am free most weekends, though won’t stay up too late on a school night. I also only take public transport so can only really go places that are accessible by bus or train. If you’re interested, just email or tweet me.

We charge no fees, no fines, but cups of tea are always welcome!

Guest post by Jess Haigh

(Image via Sanetho’s Flickr photostream)