Second life for telephone booths in Malaga villages: mini-libraries

Telephone booths fell into disuse decades ago. Since then, they have become a nuisance for many people, as they lost all meaning and purpose with the widespread emergence of the mobile phone. Telefónica began to remove these installations all over the country years ago, although there are some towns that decided to give them a second life by transforming them into mini-libraries.

This metamorphosis began to take shape in different parts of Spain at the beginning of this decade, although the idea was imported from other countries such as Germany and the UK. Little by little, it has also begun to reach the province of Malaga. Moclinejo, Alfarnate and Genalguacil are three of the villages where telephone booths have become a spot for residents to exchange books.

Moclinejo, located in the Axarquia district, was the last one to convert the only telephone booth it had, next to the parish church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia. Passersby have been noticing the 'Libros libres' (Free books) sign on Calle Iglesia since July this year. Residents can leave the books they don't need at home anymore and choose a new read to take with them. There is everything from children's stories to relatively recently published novels.

The initiative came from the Asociación Arte y Naturaleza in Moclinejo and was supported by the town hall. Mayor Antonio Muñoz has announced that they are planning to place a bench right next to the mini-library for those who want to read there. "We want to put a sensor-activated light so that it can even be used at night," he said.

Alfarnate town hall converted the old telephone booth on Calle Parras into a mini-library back in 2022. It was part of a wider initiative to improve this central area of the village, close to the river. Today, the mini-library area is known as the Rinconcito de calle Parra. It is equipped with benches for those who want to read there.

The third village - Genalguacil - has been a veritable open-air museum since the beginning of this century. The old telephone booth there, located on one of the central streets of the municipality, has also been put to use as a small library. The town hall, in collaboration with the cultural association Genial Genal, transformed this space, giving the same use to the bus stop as well.

There are other municipalities in Malaga that have chosen to convert telephone booths instead of removing them, even if they have opted for a different approach, different from a mini-library. In Cartajima, for example, the Fachadas creativas project (Creative facades) included these installations in the mural decorations it launched in the summer of 2020. This initiative has turned the town into a permanent exhibition.