The Free Mending Library: What You Reap is What You Sew

The Free Mending Library

One the fifteenth of each month, Michael Swaine runs a free mending library out of his custom built sewing cart in San Francisco.

The free mending library started out with a sewing machine and a cardboard sign. It evolved into a pushcart complete with umbrella and other goodies. He’s currently works the Tenderloin neighbourhood of San Francisco, where he offers free clothes mending from his portable sewing station.

60% of the work involves things like hemming; the rest of it tends to be patching or mending tears. Swaine saves the extra fabric from alterations and uses it for patches. In exchange for his services, Swaine gets to meet people and hear their stories, get a glimpse of their lives. His work also promotes the possibilities of mending in the face of throwaway consumer culture.

This project has a lot in common with The Burning Library.  It’s free, involves a pedestrian-friendly cart, and it started out with just a cardboard sign. Plus, it’s pretty amazingly fantastic. The Mending Library centres as much on human exchange as it does on library services.

For more details, check out Cast On’s podcast interview with Michael Swaine or the Twisted Thread video on his work in San Francisco and London.

Luis Soriano, Alfa and Beto

Biblioburro crossing a stream

I first came across the Biblioburro when I saw a picture of Luis Soriano and his donkey on the cover of Alberto Maguel’s The Library at Night. I was excited and enthusiastic and inspired, and I still am whenever I come across mention of this fantastic library.

Teacher, librarian, and restauranteur, Soriano cruises around rural northern Colombia on the weekends with his own grassroots bookmobile. With the help of donkeys Alfa and Beta, he brings books to the bookless.

There have been several articles published about the Biblioburro, notably in The New York Times, The Washington Post and La Nacion. It has also been featured on Juan Gossain’s radio show, and is in the process of expanding into a custom-built library as the collection grows. I was excited to discover that the interwebs have footage of the Biblioburro and Soriano in action. Check it out on YouTube – it will make you clutch at your heart and go “Awwwwwwww!”

The best thing is that Soriano’s not the only one doing this. Take a look at the Biblioburro blog for more.