site.btaBucharest Launches Metro Library Initiative

Residents of Bucharest, whose daily route includes travelling by metro through Piata Unirii (Unification Square) metro station, now have a shelf with dozens of books to borrow, provided by the Bucharest Metropolitan Library and the National Library of Romania. The pilot project entitled Biblioteca de la Metrou (Metro Library) will be extended to other metro stations in order to boost interest in reading and facilitate access to culture for as many people as possible.

The books, mostly contemporary titles and fiction written in Romanian, can be read on site or borrowed to take home, as long as they are returned undamaged or exchanged for other books.

The project organizers said: "In practice, the Bucharest Metropolitan Library will travel every day by metro through the books that passengers will carry with them, from station to station, to their own homes." They referred to a Nielsen Book Data study, which estimated that Generation Z largely prefers printed books over audio books or other formats.

According to the latest statistics published by Romania's National Institute of Statistics and quoted by Digi24, some 11.1 million Romanians have not read a book in the last year for various reasons, including lack of time or interest.