These Amsterdammers have mapped over 700 mini-libraries (and we LOVE to see it)

So you think you can read? Well, this pair of bookworms have discovered and put hundreds of mini-libraries on the map — 760 and counting, to be exact. 📚

It all started during the pandemic when Enriki Bloem wanted to give his American pal Emile LeBrun a tour of Amsterdam while also donating some books in those mini-libraries you see on street corners en route.

To their dismay, they found many of the mini-library cupboards listed in the online mini-library card had vanished. 🥲

The only logical solution? Start their own map of mini-libraries — or, as they put it in Dutch, “mini-biebs” — Het Parool reports.

My strange addiction, anyone?

A couple of years and hundreds of mini-libraries later, the side project has escalated into a full-fledged “obsession”.

The two friends have searched the streets of the Dutch capital far and wide — often getting tips on their Instagram account, @minibiebsofamsterdam — to map out these book-swapping spots around town.

The pair have now racked up an impressive count of 760 mini-biebs on their map. 😮

Apparently, some libraries take the form of Ikea Billy cabinets or “interesting” cupboards held together by rotting wood.

One mini-library in Uitgeest has even set up shop in a self-made “mini church with an alter,” says Bloem.

Still, the intensity of this once-tireless scavenger hunt has died down; the two friends say they have chilled out a bit and doubt they will reach a thousand “mini-biebs” (that might require quitting their day job 😜).

What are your thoughts on this adorable project? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature image:Depositphotos

Accuracy, clarity, and a touch of humour — that’s DutchReview. Read our editorial mission.

Ellen Ranebo
Ellen Ranebo
As someone half Swedish and half Irish who has lived in the Netherlands, the UK, and attended an American School, Ellen is a cocktail of various nationalities. Having had her fair share of bike accidents, near-death experiences involving canals, and miscommunications while living here (Swedish and Dutch have deceptively similar words with very different meanings), she hopes to have (and document) plenty more in future.

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