The Little Red Booths
By Chelsea Phillips
On the north side of the Brisbane River there is a budding sense of community in the air.
Most recently manifesting itself in the form of traditional English phone booths, the latest local additions to the Towong and St Lucia area.
Driving down Sylvan Road or past Ironside shops it’s a sight to be seen and leaves many wondering what their purpose could be. But as you pass by it becomes clear in big bold letters - LIBRARY.
Cracking opens the currant red doors, there lies a trove of undiscovered stories and threads of connection weaved into the pages of each book waiting to be opened.
The idea for a phone booth came from Local Councillor James Mackay who had previously seen an old telephone booth converted into street library and wanted to create something with similar impact in his own community.
“What we wanted to do was to try and encourage people to get into reading and sharing books because when you share books, your sharing stories and when your sharing stories you’re becoming a part of the community,” he said.
We thought it would be really novel and just a bit of a landmark to try and get people really into it by putting it in something like an old English phone booth.”
To implement his vision Councillor Mackay recruited help from a local community group, the Centenary Suburbs Men’s Shed Club, well known for their crafts skills and their passion to give back to the community.
The Men’s Shed has worked on many smaller-scale street libraries that are situated in Toowong, St Lucia, and the surrounding suburbs and so were tasked to tackle the infamous red telephone booth as their next project.
Eighteen months of part-time labour led to what stands now, but it’s about more than just the end product. The Men’s Shed stands for everything the telephone booths now represent in that it brings together like-minded people and provides a sanctuary to anyone who may feel lost or isolated. Men’s Shed member Paul Randolph reiterated these sentiments in sharing how the men’s shed is a safe place for men to come together, communicate openly, and share their respective passions.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of members here that feel that this has been their salvation. Because they would have found themselves stuck at home doing nothing and getting depressed about that because most people have lived a very productive life in their work life. To have that suddenly chopped off and that socialising you have every day is gone. Yeah, I think it’s important,” he said.
Kevin Eastment, a fellow Men’s Shed member said how the shed has been able to help him post-retirement and open his eyes to learning new skills.
“I’ve spent most of my life working in front of a computer and that’s not what I want retirement to be. So here you’re up, you’re walking around and I’m getting a new skillset. For the telephone booth I never fibre-glassed anything before and from someone else I’m learning how to care for honeybees,” he said.
The Men’s Shed Association was birthed from the idea of shedding light on men’s mental health and giving men a space escape to post-retirement.
Likewise, street libraries act as community connectors and can spark conversation between neighbours who might have never spoken two words to each other before. Someone you smile at in passing but remain strangers despite your proximity.
In a summary report from the Australian Street Library Organisation, research found that in 2021 almost five thousand street libraries were situated in communities around Australia. And the trends show that these numbers were and are continuing to grow.
2021 Australian Street Library Finding Summary
There is an abundance of street libraries that litter the streets of Brisbane. One only has to look, and they can be found in front of convenience stores, cafes, outside in parks, and out the front of people’s homes.
Toowong local and avid reader Jelyna Rubulis spoke of her experience with street libraries and how it can form more personal connections with her fellow residents, even if they’ve never met before.
“You feel like you’re sharing something personal with your community. Often you feel comfortable giving recommendations (especially books) to people close to you, or people who you interact with, so having a street library feels like you’re reaching out and sharing a bond with those who live in your community that you don’t often directly talk with,” she said.
“Knowing someone else may like the same books as you, gives you something in common with a stranger. Taking a book feels like receiving a personal recommendation, you’re often sifting to find one you might enjoy rather than being overwhelmed by many in a bookstore. You tend to appreciate the book more too.”
It’s times like now as we live in a world with an abundance of quick and easy connectivity that people often find themselves the most isolated. Connecting online is like wondering through a vast empty space of holograms. Or hearing your friends laugh through a screen instead of seeing their face light up in front of you. Sharing something physical, like a novel is an access point of reconnection that locals like Rubulis are excited to get their hands on.
“People can live in a suburb without ever knowing the people they live near and loose the opportunity to make a home from the area. Often people who love the places they live in attribute it to the people who live in their community, so building a stronger sense of community and connection is important,” she said.
There are hidden strings of connection scattered throughout the community, tying us together in all forms, including novels. As you pull out a book you are connected to the person who owned it before. By leaving a book you pass on something you loved for another to fall just as hard for.
