Washington, DC

A Novel Approach to a Circulating Library

By Barbara E. Martinez

. . . Bacino sat in the Union Station food court recently, her remaining copy of "The Grapes of Wrath" prominently displayed, hoping for some of that give and take. Some Book Crossers had arranged to meet in person through another site, www.meetup.com, which facilitates gatherings among members of virtual communities. "When people have books in common, you always have something to talk about," Bacino says. Book Crossers all over the world get together on the second Tuesday of every month via meetup.com, with Italians holding the largest gatherings. Italy places third for site members, behind the United States and Canada.

Sadly, only Bacino -- who lives in Seattle but was visiting Washington for the holidays -- came to D.C.'s scheduled gathering, for which at least five people had committed. More than 700 people from the Washington area have registered on Book Crossing, and several dozen in turn have registered on meetup.com. Perhaps braving the cold of December to get to Union Station just didn't compare to curling up with a good book.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8475-2003Jan3.html