This project, aiming to democratize reading, was launched by a graphic novel enthusiast who decided to give a second life to rescued books. The establishment, open every Thursday, has gone from receiving a dozen weekly visitors to forming long queues of people interested in reading.
After five years, the decision to join social media led to an exponential impact. The large influx of people has necessitated expanding the free book area by over 50%, now including encyclopedias, VHS, and vinyl records.
“"We will never run out of books because in the back, in the storeroom, we have shelves with many boxes that we bring out every week. And so many people come to donate that they are surprise boxes, because not even I know what's inside."
The project manager, who covers expenses from his own salary, has considered extending opening hours, currently from 5 PM to 7 PM on Thursdays. Despite its popularity, donations have not been sufficient to cover the store's rent, which is around 500 euros monthly.
Despite a previous negative experience on social media, the visibility gained has been very positive, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. However, the project continues to receive negative comments, to which the manager responds that the donation box is for voluntary contributions and his main motivation is a love for books.
Currently, there is consideration to move to a larger premises, as the current one can only display about 20,000 copies. In the back room, there is a lot of quality material waiting to be donated to the people of Alicante.
