The community benefits of second-hand book swaps in the UAE: 'You’re creating connections'

On any given day, Angela Hundal might have a handful of children outside her Arabian Ranches home. Not playing or loitering, but quietly perusing the titles on the bookcase by her front door before deciding which one to borrow for free.

Hundal is one of more than 200,000 people across 128 countries who have set up a Little Free Library, the non-profit free book exchange started in Wisconsin in 2009 by founder Todd Bol as a tribute to his mother, a teacher who loved books.

With the ethos of "take a book, share a book", the idea is to borrow a book and return it when you’re done or swap it for one of your own, and there are about six or seven currently operating across the UAE.

“It’s such a cool initiative,” says Hundal, a senior editor and mother of two.

“I've always loved reading and writing, so I’ve always wanted to do something like this. I had seen on Instagram that some people had set up their own Little Free Library and I loved the idea of having this community initiative where people come and take books."

After moving to Arabian Ranches in early 2024, she thought now was the time to finally do it. By November, it was up and running.

Show caption: The non-profit initiative began in Wisconsin in 2009, founde…

Participants can buy special Little Free Library boxes from the official website or create their own. For Hundal, it meant a trip to Ikea to buy a small bookcase that she then secured to the wall outside her front door before filling it with mostly children’s books and some adult books she added herself.

“It did so well and I got so many donations from people as well,” she says. “There were actually too many donations at one point and my house was overflowing with books. Now I have a separate shelf for adult books and the rest is for kids.

“It’s a community library, so I don’t think of them as my books or my shelves. It’s very much that the community can come whenever they want, it’s open 24-7, seven days a week.”

Second-hand books and book swaps are popular across the UAE as people donate or exchange titles they’ve read. In Dubai, Bookends in Silicon Oasis, House of Prose in Times Square Centre and BookHero at Oasis Mall all offer second-hand books or swap options for a fraction of the price of new ones. At Spill The Bean coffee shop in Sustainable City, an informal book exchange corner lets you leave or pick up a new read.

Show caption: Little Free Library opened in Hundal's Arabian Ranches villa…

In Abu Dhabi, the Book Nook at Reem Mall has shelves of pre-loved books ready to be read again, as does the Third Place Cafe in Al Bateen.

“I have a WhatsApp group on which people can reach out and ask: ‘Do you have this book?’ or where I’ll share when more books have come in,” says Hundal.

“I’ve also involved the kids in the neighbourhood as well. I used to have about six kids who would come help me tidy up and sort the books out, but they are in their early teens now, so they are not around as much. Now I need some new stewards, and I’m going to put a call out soon for those who want to help.”

Hundal, a 2022 Emirates Literary Festival winner for her book, Honey Tiger, says she has been pleasantly surprised at the number of teenagers who come by looking for books for their age group.

“Interestingly, a lot of teenagers come to browse but I have a shortage of books for middle school to young adult age,” she says. “So, I see a gap there. It’s really nice to hear that young teens are coming and saying: ‘We want to read, what do you have for us?’ That's really heartening.”

Hundal is keen to emphasise the “swap” aspect of the library to keep the selection fresh and says she doesn’t track how many people use the service: “All too often, numbers are considered a measure of success, but for this initiative they aren’t. Just having one person come by in a day is the measure of success here.”

Cultural events are an excuse to decorate the Little Free Library and host readings, and Hundal dresses up the bookcase for Diwali, Ramadan, Christmas, and more.

Show caption: Hundal says she likes to decorate around the seasons, recent…

“I decorate it around the seasons," she says, having recently put on a Halloween display. "I put a Santa’s letterbox outside, and the kids come and bring their letters, and I write back. It’s so much fun; they love it.”

The creativity that has stemmed from setting up the library has been one of the unexpected rewards. "I feel like when you’re creating a community, a place where people can gather, you’re creating connections with the people. It’s never just one thing. When you put something out there, people come.”

Angela Hundal’s Little Free Library is in the Al Reem community in Arabian Ranches, Dubai