For her Master's thesis, Hiep examined 40 mini libraries in Nijmegen, with a total of almost 2,300 books. To do so, she cycled all over the city in all kinds of weather for five weeks. Every week, she took pictures of the same public bookcases, keeping track of which books were taken from the mini libraries, and which were added. She followed libraries in all Nijmegen districts, except Lindenholt. “I didn't find any libraries in Lindenholt on minibieb.nl, where most of the libraries I studied are registered.”
Eager readers
She asked the library owners what had inspired them to start a mini library. “For most, it was a way to get rid of their old books without having to throw them away. But many people also found it important to contribute to the reading enjoyment of others.” The owners were all between 30 and 70 years old, and they reported taking good care of the bookcases, for example by removing damaged, old, or uninteresting books, such as promotional materials, themselves.
Many owners thought that few of their books were being taken out, but that proved to be unjustified, says Hiep. In the weeks during which the Dutch Language and Culture student studied the libraries, 32% of all books were taken out within a week. “And that was in March and April, when it rained a lot. When the weather is nicer, the turnover rate is probably even higher.”
However, she did observe clear differences between city districts. “In East and Central Nijmegen, owners were mostly satisfied with how their libraries were used, but in Dukenburg, for example, they were not. Far fewer books were being taken out there. And that while those libraries also contained really good titles, by authors like Anjet Daanje, who won many literary awards.”
Living writers and erotic novels
The study shows that readers have clear preferences. The most popular books were fiction, and within that category, English-language novels circulated extra fast. Children's books, translated literature and thrillers were also popular. “I’d expected to see more books from the traditional reading lists and by The Big Three: Mulisch, Reve and Hermans,” says Hiep. “But I actually found quite a few books by living writers.” She was also pleasantly surprised by the ratio between male and female authors: “It was actually quite proportionate. Although: most of the dead authors were male, while most of the authors of erotic novels were women.”
Books on campus
Hiep came upon her thesis topic through a conversation with her supervisor, literature expert Jeroen Dera. “I was outraged that there was no mini library in the lobby of the Erasmus building. I found it quite unacceptable for a Faculty of Arts.” In response, Dera pointed her to an American study on mini libraries, and so the idea was born to look for public bookcases in Nijmegen. “In some US cities, mini libraries are an important tool in combating illiteracy. It would be interesting to also study the effect of mini libraries on residents' reading behaviour in the Netherlands.”
But the student is not planning to embark on that research right now. “I'm really happy that my thesis has been approved, and now I get to take a holiday.” She wants to encourage everyone to use the mini libraries in their neighbourhood. “You can always take something out, even if you don't have any books of your own to put back.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
