Warsaw opens metro station 'express' library to get commuters off their phones

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/07/warsaw-opens-metro-station-express-library-smartphones

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones

Metroteka aims to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in second world war

Jakub Krupa
Sun 7 Sep 2025 05.36 EDT

An “express” library has opened in a new metro station in Warsaw, aiming to provide an appealing cultural space to encourage residents and commuters to forgo smartphones in favour of books and, thanks to fresh herbs growing in a vertical garden, a dash of subterranean greenery too.

The stylish Metroteka, which opened this week in the Kondratowicza M2 line metro station in the Polish capital’s Targówek district, offers two reading areas for adults and children, as well as a space for public readings and events.

About 16,000 books are on offer in the 150 sq metre and can be borrowed through an “express” checkout machine using contactless chips. Readers can return them on site or through a street-level parcel locker for books, available 24/7.

Visitors can study or work in a communal area, borrow a laptop to browse the internet, or simply sit down with a complimentary coffee or hot chocolate to unwind after rush hour travel on the metro

…

He says there are historical reasons for it – with Poland losing 70% of libraries in the second world war, “we had several generations that did not see their parents or grandparents in front of a wall of books” – but also cultural as “reading is not something associated with adulthood”, but with “schools, teachers, librarians, and usually mothers reading to children”.

… lots of borrowers… also a hydroponic herb garden … pics … more …

[SWBTATTReg]

1. I applaud this action, but to be honest, the residents and commuters should be on their own, staying off their

phones so much. When I go out, all I see oftentimes, is almost the whole room of people glancing at their phones, put them down for a minute, and then immediately glance at them again, to see if they missed anything in the few seconds since they put the phone down.

What they need is to totally leave the phones shut off or put away, and sit there and talk w/ their fellow neighbors, friends, strangers, etc., w/o a damn phone.

For those that say 'oh, I might have an emergency!), I ask just how often does an emergency really happen?

The actual value of talking to people w/o a phone or an interface (but instead, one on one) is amazing. Explore life in its fullest, w/o the phone in your damn hands all of the time. Just my 2 cents worth.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. No, I'm not. I am the last thing being an extrovert. Must be nice to make a snap judgement and judge others.