Egypt's street libraries bring books to the public

A street library project makes reading more accessible in Egypt, where books are becoming a luxury amid economic hardship.

Screenshot of people at a street library, Cairo, Egypt.
TRTWorld

Screenshot of people at a street library, Cairo, Egypt.

Books are virtually unaffordable for many in Egypt where more than a quarter of the population now lives below the poverty line.

Businessman Nader Riad wants to change that, with a project to make it easier for people to access reading material and literature.

Egypt's first modern public library opened in 1999. Today, only 13 branches remain operational, with just three in the capital Cairo, a city of 9 million people.

"This idea came from the fact that many of us have books that we don't need, and others are in need of these books. So if they exchanged books on this principle, this process will have a low cost; it'll be a self-running project," said Riad, founder of the project.

 It's already proving a success.

"Books are expensive nowadays. So, having a library like this in the street where we read, give a book and take another, will benefit people," said student Abdelrahman Tarek.

TRT World's Anelise Borges has more.

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