For Bratislava bookworms who run out of space for their books but do not want to see them end up in the bin, traditional or online second-hand and antiquarian bookstores are no longer the only way they can make sure they go to a good home.
Innovative services to help old books end up in the hands of new owners have sprung up in the capital in recent years, and the latest one is ‘Knihotaxi’ (Book Taxi).
Anyone who no longer has the space for their collection at home, and wants to help promote sustainability, can order the service, booking a special ‘taxi’ which for the past few weeks has been driving across Bratislava each weekend, taking books their owners no longer want.
“The worst solution is to put the books in the cellar or on the attic; this way books deteriorate,” said Matúš Karaffa, director of Knihobot Slovensko, a second-hand bookstore. “On top of that, in most cases, these are books that are sold out and somebody else might want them.”