Award for the "Sustainable Book BoXX"

On October 9, the educational project “Sustainable BücherboXX for Görlitz” received an award in the “University” category of the competition “Take Action Today—Learn for the Future—100 Projects for a Sustainable Present to Preserve a Future Worth Living.” Jürgen Möldner, the instructor in charge of the student-led practical project, accepted the award during the 11th International Conference on Sustainable Regional Development through the Use of Renewable Energies, held at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Solar Center in Wietow. “The focus of the submission was the BücherboXX as a teaching tool and pedagogical concept for dynamic, practice-oriented instruction with a sustainable impact on knowledge transfer for project development and project management,” he said, expressing his delight at the recognition. The competition’s patron was Dr. Till Backhaus, Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Consumer Protection for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

On September 1, social work students from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, as part of their student project “Sustainable BücherboXX,” launched the “WanderbücherboXX Europa” at Café Central on Berliner Straße in Görlitz, as reported here . This coming Friday, October 13, the BücherboXX will be moved to Wilhelmsplatz. The project group invites anyone interested to stop by.

The BücherboXX was stationed at Café Central, at the corner of Berliner Straße and Hospitalstraße in Görlitz, for six weeks. The public’s reaction was largely positive. The students involved in the project at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences are very pleased with how well the free mini-street library has been received by the citizens of Görlitz.

Now, however, it’s time for a change of location. On Friday, October 13, the BücherboXX will move to Wilhelmsplatz. There, too, it will be officially opened with a program organized by the students, including free coffee, tea, and homemade cake. Anyone interested is warmly invited and is welcome to bring unused books to exchange or to fill the BücherboXX. It will remain open until December 1, 2017, before being returned to its creators in Berlin at the Institute for Sustainability in Education, Work, and Culture (INBAK). Until then, the project group will study how Görlitz residents and visitors use it so that future students can create their own permanent BücherboXX for Görlitz.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen or used the “WanderbücherboXX Europa”—it’s a converted and visually redesigned phone booth that serves as a space for the free exchange of books. “Take a book, bring a book, read a book”—that’s the motto of the BücherboXX, which is accessible to everyone.

Anyone interested in supporting the project or who has questions can contact the students by email at projekt-buecherboXX@hszg.de. Further information can be found on the project’s Facebook page under “Görlitzer BücherboXX.”