Free books stop people in their tracks

Free books are being given away in an empty retail property in Liverpool. The only restriction is that no person takes more than three books at a time. There is no catch, no registration and no payment.

The scheme has been made possible by the Healthy Planet Initiative, which assists charities in finding ‘free’ space that otherwise would have been empty. The initiative allows charities to use vacated retail space in the city that is on the market but currently unused.

Alice James, a volunteer for Book-Cycle, told JMU Journalism: “Anyone can get books for free from the library but people are put off by registration and late fees. There is no worry about that here.”

Book-cycle is a charity organisation that recycles books that would have either been destroyed or recycled and distributes them across the globe.

The books vary from Dan Brown novels to pregnancy guidebooks and there is no shortage of choice with over 1,000 books to choose from. The books have either been donated or are due to be recycled or destroyed, and despite none of them being brand new it does not detract from people taking plenty.

Alice, 28, said: “We attract a lot of students but also the general public. A lot of the people who take the books leave a small donation that goes towards the charity.”

Student Alex Jones said: “The sign on the front made me stop in my tracks, at first I was suspicious but then I really did get my hands on some free books.”

The Healthy Planet Initiative is open to anyone who wishes to use empty shops to promote a worthy cause and is supportive of using space that is sitting dormant around the city. The property would usually cost £80,000 per annum to use the space for retail; this initiative allows charities to use them for free.