Web Site Wants To Turn World Into Library
Participants Release Books Into The Wild
UPDATED: 1:41 pm CDT October 15,
2002
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Imagine you were walking through the woods and found a book in the middle of the path.
You may think it was left there by accident, but it could very well be part of a movement that's trying to turn the world into a library. It could be a book from bookcrossing.com.Beth Becker is a book crosser. The manager of Lancaster's Cafe Aroma Borealis is one of a growing number of people around the world who want to share her love for reading."We already had a shelf for books because I'm an avid reader. I need to get rid of them somehow," Becker said.Becker heard about bookcrossing.com, and its goal to share books. You read a book, register it on the Web site and then share it with someone you have never met."You release it, set it off in the wild, leave it wherever you want," Becker said.The books are tracked on the Web site using a number on the inside cover. They show up at parks, grocery stores and coffee shops."Next thing I knew we had a bookshelf full of books, people coming in. We get e-mails all the time from people saying, 'Where are you? I need to check you out,'" Becker said.With more than 38,000 books on the loose in the United States alone, News 8 decided to do some hunting. Reporter Anne Shannon went to the Web site and clicked on Lancaster. She found more than 100 books waiting to be found.Her first stop was a bench at Lancaster Square. She checked them all, and couldn't find a thing. A church cemetery was the next stop. There was no book there either. Then she tried a doctor's office at the Lancaster Health Campus."Actually, I was just cleaning the waiting room and tidying up and it was on the table. (I) thought someone left it here. I was waiting for a call, someone to say I left my book," Carrie Crandall said.The novel was left on purpose, giving someone else an opportunity to be a book crosser.Looking through the books that are "in the wild," as the site says, you can find a number of books that were released across the Susquehanna Valley. Many, if not most, of those listed may have already been found, but it doesn't seem that many people are continuing to pass the books along. After spending about 15 minutes looking through various Susquehanna Valley towns, only two books were found with entries from more than one person, and one of those books was passed to an acquaintance, rather than being released into the wild.
You may think it was left there by accident, but it could very well be part of a movement that's trying to turn the world into a library. It could be a book from bookcrossing.com.Beth Becker is a book crosser. The manager of Lancaster's Cafe Aroma Borealis is one of a growing number of people around the world who want to share her love for reading."We already had a shelf for books because I'm an avid reader. I need to get rid of them somehow," Becker said.Becker heard about bookcrossing.com, and its goal to share books. You read a book, register it on the Web site and then share it with someone you have never met."You release it, set it off in the wild, leave it wherever you want," Becker said.The books are tracked on the Web site using a number on the inside cover. They show up at parks, grocery stores and coffee shops."Next thing I knew we had a bookshelf full of books, people coming in. We get e-mails all the time from people saying, 'Where are you? I need to check you out,'" Becker said.With more than 38,000 books on the loose in the United States alone, News 8 decided to do some hunting. Reporter Anne Shannon went to the Web site and clicked on Lancaster. She found more than 100 books waiting to be found.Her first stop was a bench at Lancaster Square. She checked them all, and couldn't find a thing. A church cemetery was the next stop. There was no book there either. Then she tried a doctor's office at the Lancaster Health Campus."Actually, I was just cleaning the waiting room and tidying up and it was on the table. (I) thought someone left it here. I was waiting for a call, someone to say I left my book," Carrie Crandall said.The novel was left on purpose, giving someone else an opportunity to be a book crosser.Looking through the books that are "in the wild," as the site says, you can find a number of books that were released across the Susquehanna Valley. Many, if not most, of those listed may have already been found, but it doesn't seem that many people are continuing to pass the books along. After spending about 15 minutes looking through various Susquehanna Valley towns, only two books were found with entries from more than one person, and one of those books was passed to an acquaintance, rather than being released into the wild. Copyright 2008, Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
