Mini library in The New GardenMini library in The New Garden

Due to many different circumstances, local facilities like bookshops and libraries are vanishing from many places in the Netherlands. From this sad phenomenon springs the mini library initiative and the optimistic idea that we can work together to build a kinder society, if everyone contributes something – in this case, a book. We see more and more examples of public bookcases in residential areas – a cute cupboard in the front garden, outside a clubhouse or in a school or office. Because you can borrow and swap books for free, it’s a highly accessible way to read. Knowledge and imagination become shared goods: everyone’s and no one’s. The mini library also prevents books from ending up in the paper shredder or incinerator, so that they can bring a beautiful, exciting or educational moment to someone else.

There are no rules for how a mini library should look. You don’t have to meet any formal design requirements, as long as the books have some shelter from wind and rain. Anyone who starts a public mini library is a bit of an architect. The improvised nature of most private mini biebs is what gives them part of their charm. Nieuwe Instituut wants to make its own library at least as charming, but as an institute for design we naturally made it a work assignment. Designers Esmée Dros and Sven Krahl have given the mini library their own twist. In their design you can see elements of the garden, reused material from previous exhibitions and the historic interior of the institute itself

The organic shapes chosen by Dros and Krahl reflect the plant and animal life in the garden where the bookcase will have its home, and also the fact that the Nieuwe Instituut has been a ‘zoöp’ since April 2022. As a ‘cooperative with all life’, the institute also represents the interests of all the non-human life forms in and around the building and garden.

For example, we strive to contribute to the life-sustaining capacity of the building, ponds and garden and we try to keep the ecosystem in which we operate as healthy, balanced and resilient as possible. This also means that we deal consciously with material flows. After all, how you deal with building materials, leftovers and waste has a major impact on everything that lives in your area.

The designers have deliberately built the mini library of mostly (80%) leftover wood, plastic and metal previously used in exhibition designs in the institute. Specially selected recycled planks and plates partly determine the shape and dimensions of the shelves and doors. The designers leave any imprints on the materials, so that the library continues to wink at past exhibitions in the institute.

Dros and Krahl have also emphatically matched the design to the location: their design was inspired by Bořek Šípek’s interior design for the former NAi, the architecture institute that became part of the Nieuwe Instituut ten years ago and occupied the building on the Museumpark from 1993.

In addition to being a graphic designer, Esmée Dros is also a Detour Guide at the Nieuwe Instituut. In her own words, she is committed to translating stories that (need to) be told and builds visual bridges between image and content. Sven Krahl is a graphic designer and his work deals mainly with topics such as social and ecological responsibility, the visibility of the everyday and the way in which materiality is experienced. Together, they are now translating the historical, cultural, social and ecological stories that are part of the Nieuwe Instituut’s projects into an accessible and remarkably unobtrusive mini library: “A library is so much more than a bookshelf,” according to the duo.

In the Nieuwe Instituut’s mini library you’ll find duplicate titles from the Research Centre, overstocked titles from the bookshop and the favourite novels and poetry collections of institute staff members. You can take them with you, borrow them, swap them and bring them back. And don’t forget to leave your own inspirational read to inspire someone else. Share your favourites here with neighbours, colleagues and other visitors to the institute and garden. Any book is welcome: from a coffee-table title on architecture or design to an old novel, comic book or children’s book you’ve finished with.

Finished the entire mini library and still hungry for more? Then of course you’re more than welcome to browse the NAi Booksellers shop in the institute’s foyer, or plan a visit to the Research Centre on the third floor. And keep an eye on the agenda on our website for upcoming book-related events!