Indianapolis Public Library has a cool program with their bike, where they give away books!

“Josh Crain stood outside a food bank drop at Christ Our King Christian Church, but he wasn’t dropping off food. Next to him was a road bike and a bike trailer bearing a sign: “Free books.” 

When people walked by, Crain repeated the message.

“Free books from the public library,” he said. 

A woman approached, glancing at the sign. She had never seen the bike setup before.

“I need something to read to my grandbabies,” she said.

Crain showed her the trailer’s shelves, displaying 20 or so books, and an extra stock of nearly 100 books in boxes nearby. He made recommendations, and she walked away with four titles, one for each of her grandchildren.

The books and the bike that brought them are an initiative the Indianapolis Public Library rolled out last year as another way to engage the community and bring reading and the library more fully into people’s lives. The bike goes to range of events, whether small like a Gleaners Food Bank donation on the north side or large like the Gen Con convention Downtown, a few times a month May to October.

Anyone who visits the bike, which stays outside at events, may take free books home to keep. The books range in topic and genre, including Captain Underpants novels, Agatha Christie mysteries and Charles Dickens classics.”