Our Story - Video Presentation

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

How It Works

The idea is really simple!

1. Take a book - Browse through the selection, and if you see something that interests you, take it, read it and enjoy it!

2. Leave a book - This common shelf is meant to be a source of free books for any and all who would like to read. The only way it will continue is if those who enjoy visiting Common Shelf also share by bringing books to replenish the supply the next time they stop by.

3. Tell a friend - The more people with a vested interest in Common Shelf, the better!

How Our Journey Began

Common Shelf is the vision of a team of the 2010 Leadership Chattanooga program. The idea came to the team via a blog out of Hanover, Germany where an American studying abroad found their public bookcases intriguing. They wrote about it ending with this question, "Would you want something like this in your city?"

Our answer was YES! We are all passionate about Chattanooga and feel like our city is the perfect place to try this out. Thus we began our journey of placing two Common Shelves in public spaces here in Chattanooga for our citizens and visitors to enjoy. Our hope is that others in our community (and in other communities!) will be inspired to create a common shelf where they live.