That is exactly what Joshua Woo did with the abandoned phone booths in George Town, Penang.
Alongside his team from Penggerak Komuniti Muda (PEKA), they gave five abandoned phone booths a much-needed makeover by painting them in vibrant colours and repurposing them into mini libraries for the community.
Woo told FMT that this idea came to him back in 2019 when he first noticed that the abandoned phone booths had been vandalised.
“These phone booths are at the heart of the heritage zone in George Town and were an eyesore. This got me brainstorming ideas to transform these phone booths.”
As an organisation that hopes to empower youths, PEKA was looking for a way to encourage the younger generation to pick up the reading habit.
“Our main goal when carrying out this project was to cultivate the culture of reading especially among youths,” Woo explained, adding that after some research, the idea of the mini libraries struck.
“Being an avid reader and huge book collector, I realised that one major issue I face is having space for the books I have read. So, why not create a place where everyone can share their books by donating or exchanging them,” he told FMT.
The project kicked off in 2020. However, the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns delayed the work and it was only completed last month.
“The first challenge we encountered was with the MBPP (Penang Island City Council) as we planned to paint the phone booths bright colours. They however were worried the colours may not blend in with the rest of the buildings,” Woo said, adding that PEKA wanted the booths to be bright and loud to attract the younger generation.
However, they succeeded in convincing MBPP to go along with their idea. Then the next challenge cropped up. “Sourcing out the right paint colours took us weeks!” Woo exclaimed, laughing.
After much discussion, the team settled on bright Chromatella yellow, Fire Princess red, Frost blue and Fascination pink.
Then the real work began. He explained that the team first had to scrape off the old paint from the sturdy booths before repainting it. Then shelving was added so the books could be stored neatly.
The whole project cost RM9,000 and was paid for by PEKA. MBPP chipped in by paying for the USB ports installed in each mini library so that those reading books can charge their phones. Lights were also installed for night-reading.
The freshly painted and well-stocked mini libraries are now open to the public to come sit and read a book. They may also borrow, exchange and donate books as they wish. All the books here have been donated by members of the public.
“We do not have a system in place to account for all the books but if books are stolen, we hope that it inspires those that have taken the books to read. After all, our goal is to inculcate the habit of reading among the people,” Woo shared.
There is however, still the worry that the mini libraries may be vandalised. “We actually had one instance of vandalism the day after we painted the booths, so we had to go back and repaint them,” Woo said.
Hopefully, since the booths are located right outside the police station, vandals will keep away.
Woo and his team are now on the lookout for other abandoned structures to repurpose into something useful for the community.
In the meantime, if you’re in Penang, head over to Beach Street in George Town and check out these colourful mini libraries. They make for some pretty Instagrammable shots too.