Public libraries are important community spaces but they aren’t always first for funding. However, Dutch architecture firm Shau is helping to create a series of micro-libraries in Indonesia, the first of which ingeniously uses ice cream tubs.
Built in the city of Bandung, the Taman Bima Microlibrary is a 1,700-square-foot structure that uses 2,000 ice cream tubs. It was built on a preexisting stage that was often used for community gatherings and cost €35,000 (or approximately $38,700). The structure itself is comprised of steel beams and concrete slabs, with the ice cream receptacles acting as the walls.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
