Swing by Chennai’s newest little free library in Porur

Discover a quaint free library in Porur, Chennai, encouraging reading and community through book exchanges and greeting cards.

Strolling through Porur, one can find a lemon-yellow cupboard, packed to the brim with hardcovers, paperbacks, and an assortment of textbooks on various competitive exams, outside a speed xerox shop on Mount-Poonamallee Road. This hand-built cupboard is more than just a shop display; it is a little free library (LFL), similar to the ones found all across the United States.

Chennai has seen its fair share of LFLs but most have slipped into oblivion. What is truly dwindling, however, are the reading goals themselves, notes a father-daughter duo, of the 27-year-old speed xerox shop. In a bid to rekindle lost glimmers, they opened an LFL three months ago in Porur.

“Most of the students who come to our xerox shop are glued to their phones, mindlessly scrolling through social media while they wait,” says B. Vaidhyanathan, who is behind the new LFL project. His daughter, Rithika V., has jumped on board as well. Inspired by the LFL of Thoraipakkam, run by Jeyakumar S., they wanted to create a similar space for the young crowd.

“The idea is to help them rediscover the simple joy of reading the old-school way,” says Ms. Rithika, a B. Tech CSE student. What started as a small shelf, now holds over a hundred books, all donated by the neighbourhood community. “Someone from Ashok Pillar even donated 72 books,” she adds.

Anyone can take a book, but here is the twist! You don’t have to return the same one you took. Grab a well-loved classic for free, and if your favourite dog-eared magic realism novel happens to be in your tote bag, drop it off for someone else to enjoy. As the library grows, the father-daughter duo hopes to see more of these quaint LFLs pop up in the quiet corners of the city.

As this is not just about books, but also fostering a sense of community, the cupboard has a collection of greeting cards stacked neatly on the bottom shelf. “In the age of fleeting forward messages, we hope people will take a moment to pick out a card and send a heartfelt note the traditional way,” Ms. Rithika adds.