Kraków airport opens “library” with books for passengers

The city of Kraków has set up a small “library” at its airport offering books for children and adults – in Polish and other languages – while they wait for their flights.

“Reading books is an excellent relaxing activity, especially before a flight,” said Radosław Włoszek, the head of Kraków Airport, during the library’s inauguration on Tuesday, reports RMF24. Readers can access the books freely but must return them to the shelf before departure.

“We can feel the joy of contact with fiction, return to our dreams of wonderful journeys and enjoy the freedom of exploring the world,” he added. “I would like to thank who have contributed to the Airport Library.”

The books were donated by the city’s municipal library and nine consulates in Kraków, which worked to set up the project with the Centre for Aviation Education and Villa Decius, an institution providing a forum for the exchange of ideas between representatives of different cultures.

The library is the second initiative of its kind in Poland, following one at Warsaw Chopin Airport that allows passengers to take books with them on their journey. Travellers can leave the books they no longer need in the airport library.

The world’s first such scheme was opened in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. It not only offers paper books but also allows passengers to download their electronic versions, with the particular aim of promoting Dutch culture and literature.

So-called “bookcrossing” shelves in public spaces – where readers can leave books for others and take books for themselves – are common around Poland, with hundreds of such little “libraries” popping up across the country.

Last month, Kraków opened its first such facility dedicated to the sharing of comics, located in a small park outside a primary school.

Main photo credit: Biblioteka.Kraków / Facebook

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.