Aaah! A few chosen moments for a little romance, a little mystery and intrigue.
Commuters intent on catching their 7:07 a.m. express train to Chicago or elsewhere are taking a few minutes to browse the hundreds of free paperback books offered at the exchange racks popping up at several west suburban train stations.
“Ours grew out of the book rescue and recycling event we’ve held the last two springs,” said Marta Keane, coordinator for Naperville’s Resource Recovery Department, which sponsors the rack installed in July at its train station, the most recent of several in the western suburbs.
“We found people bringing in tremendous amounts of books–thousands–and a lot were in great condition, many brand new,” said Keane.
“That they can be used again is the first thing for us,” she said. “There is a hierarchy in the environment field that goes back to most anything we do, and that is reduce, reuse, or recycle.
“It’s a durable product and it’s not in disrepair. It’s still readable, it doesn’t have to be recycled and destroyed. Because that’s what happens . . . it won’t be a book again, it won’t have those words. And you save all that energy of taking it apart.”
Like other suburbs, the department chose the train station because “commuters obviously like to read because we take in tremendous amount of newspaper from our recycling bins there. And they are sort of a captured audience,” Keane said.
Unlike Naperville and more in line with the older programs in Villa Park and Geneva, the rack that popped up in June at Aurora’s downtown train station was begun by the public library and with a different motivation.
“We are always interested in areas for outreach, and this goes to the commuters who may not be as aware of the library services,” said Judy Kuzel, assistant library director at the Aurora Public Library. “The object is to get reading materials into the hands of the public.”
No matter why the racks are there, all seem to be successful as evident by hundreds of books that are either plucked from the racks or donated by residents.
Residents like Joanne P., an Aurora train conductor, who enjoys a weekly choice from that town’s rack and has been able to witness others’ enjoyment as well.
“I saw one young girl snatch up five books at one time. I kind of looked at her and she said `I read a lot,’ ” the conductor said, “but you know, they’re books, and it’s great that what she’s snatching up are books.”
