The Library of Unread Books

Initiated by Heman Chong and Renée Staal, The Library of Unread Books is a 10-year art project that began in Singapore in 2016.

Traveling from one city to another, the library is not only an itinerant library, but also a living reference with a collection of over 700 titles, that traces the perimeters of knowledge and reflects on notions of access, excess, shared knowledge and the politics of redistribution.

Each book in the library, was once a private property and has been donated by its former owner who hasn’t read it for whatever reason. Contributors to the growing mobile library receive a personalised library card and a lifetime membership.

Arranged randomly and in stacks, the books of the library are in a setting that encourages visitors to feel at home and re-arrange the books according to will and desire.