Publicbookshelves are appearing across Germany on street corners，city squares and in suburban supermarkets.In thesefreeforall libraries，people can grabwhatever they want to read，andleave behind anything they want for others.There's no need to register，no due date，andyou can take or give as many as you want.“This project is aimed at everyone wholikes to read.It is open for everybody，” Michael Aubermann，one of the organizersof the free book exchange said.
Thewestern city's latest public shelf was put up next to Bayenturm.It is thefourth free shelf that Aubermann's group，theCologne Citizen's Foundation，hasplaced outside.“We set up our other outdoor shelves last year and it's beenworking really well，” said Aubermann.The public bookshelves，which are usually financed by donations and cared for bylocal volunteer groups，have appearedindependently of each other in many cities，suburbsand villages.Each shelf holds around 200 books and it takes about six weeks fora complete turnover，with all the oldtitles replaced by new ones.
Evencommercial book stores and online book sellers seem to support the idea of freebook exchanges.“We see this project rather as a sales promotion than ascompetition，” said Elmar Muether.“If books are presenteverywhere，it helps our business，too.”
So far，theCologne book group has had few problems with damage or other problems.Aubermannsaid，“Propaganda (宣传)is the only kind of literature we do not allow here.”
Atanother bookshelf in the Bayenthal neighborhood，thelower shelves are reserved for children's literature only.“It is important thatwe make it easy for everyone to participate in this ‘reading culture on thestreet'—from old readers to kids to immigrants，”Aubermann said.
Whilemost of the shelves have so far been put up in upscale_neighborhoods ， Aubermann and the 20 volunteers who help look after theproject are planning to put up future shelves in poor neighborhoods，where citizens often don't have as much access toliterature.
