Street Libraries in Britain
Britain’s redundant telephone boxes have found an unexpectedly successful second life as street libraries and community book exchanges. One of the earliest—and probably the most influential—opened at Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset, in 2009. When the village lost its mobile-library service and faced losing its K6 telephone box, residents bought the kiosk for £1, installed shelves and filled it with donated books. The project attracted international publicity and inspired similar conversions across Britain.
Another famous example is the Lewisham Micro Library in Brockley, London. Opened in 2013 in a Grade II-listed K2 kiosk, it was restored by local resident Sebastian Handley and the Brockley Society and became known as “London’s smallest library.”
The movement has been greatly assisted by BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme, begun in 2008, which allows councils, charities and community organisations to adopt redundant kiosks for just £1. Thousands have subsequently become libraries, defibrillator stations, food exchanges and miniature museums.
The movement continues. Titchfield, Hampshire created a community book exchange and planter from its kiosk, while in 2025 Westcroft, Chippenham, residents transformed a deteriorating box into a library, seed exchange and noticeboard. In 2026 Belsize, London, local groups began acquiring a Grade II-listed box for a book exchange and art display.
These projects effectively form a grassroots preservation campaign: rather than campaigning simply to retain obsolete telephone equipment, communities demonstrate that historic kiosks can remain useful, cared-for landmarks through local ownership and volunteer involvement.
Phone Box Libraries in Europe
The conversion of redundant telephone kiosks into street libraries has been done a few places across Europe (notably in Germany). Former booths in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and other countries have become small, free book exchanges, usually operating on the simple principle of taking a book and leaving another. Austria was an early adopter: redundant telephone boxes in Salzburg were converted into Büchertankstellen (“book filling stations”), while similar community libraries appeared across Germany.
Below- French village phone booth conversion and Litla-skiptibokasafnid-Sudavik-Iceland
Below- some interesting examples in the USA and Canada in old aluminium booths
Below- an interesting example in Brisbane- The Toowong English Phone Booth Street Library is a remarkable handmade replica of Britain’s classic K2 telephone kiosk. Built by the Centenary Men’s Shed for a community project organised by former councillor James Mackay, its construction took more than a year, demonstrating an extraordinary investment of volunteer time, craftsmanship and care.
Also shown on the right- a phone booth library in Shanghai, China
Wind Phones
A Wind Phone is a disconnected telephone placed in a quiet setting where people can symbolically “call” someone who has died. The concept began in Ōtsuchi, Japan, in 2010, when garden designer Itaru Sasaki lost his cousin to cancer. Sasaki installed an old telephone booth in his garden containing a black rotary telephone with no connection to the telephone network. He imagined that, although his words could not travel down a telephone line, they might instead be carried on the wind.
The idea assumed much greater significance after the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Ōtsuchi suffered catastrophic losses, and Sasaki opened his garden and telephone to the public. Thousands of grieving people subsequently visited the booth to speak to lost relatives and friends, transforming a private act of remembrance into a communal form of mourning.
The idea has since spread remarkably widely. Wind Phones now appear in parks, gardens, hospitals, hospices, church grounds and memorial spaces across numerous countries. Some use complete telephone booths, while others consist simply of an old telephone placed in a sheltered outdoor setting.
By August 2026, one international project had mapped 646 public Wind Phones worldwide. Their appeal lies in their simplicity: the telephone does not actually connect anywhere, but provides a familiar physical object through which people can speak aloud, remember and maintain a symbolic connection with someone they have lost.
