JOHOR BAHRU: For students accustomed to their school library, a visit from a library on wheels can be an unexpected thrill.
According to Tengku Tarmizi Tengku Aziz, the excitement is so great that students flock to the visiting mobile library rather than their own school’s collection.
“When you provide something different, people get excited. Every school has a library, but when our mobile library visits, students are more excited to visit us than their own school library,” the senior librarian at Johor Bahru’s Sultan Ismail Library shared with FMT Lifestyle.
It is this appeal of the unexpected that the library hopes to harness with its latest initiative: a solar-powered book bike designed to bring books closer to the public.
Rather than waiting for readers to walk through its doors, the library meets them where they already gather: public events, community activities or, eventually, neighbourhoods further afield.
The idea took shape after library representatives visited the Selangor International Book Fair, where they saw a bicycle-based mobile library.
With Johor Bahru already hosting events such as Car-Free Morning and the JB Neon Recreation Night, they saw an opportunity to introduce a similar concept.
The book bike debuted during the JB Festival in September, followed by appearances at public events. Its novelty quickly drew attention. Its novelty quickly drew attention.
“People were excited because they could get a free book. Using a bicycle is something different and attractive. They want to see what is inside the box,” he said.
The bike operates through a book exchange programme. Members of the public can take a book by donating one in return; library staff sort the donated titles to ensure they remain relevant and suitable for other readers.
The arrangement also serves a practical purpose. Tengku Tarmizi wants to prevent people from taking free books solely to resell them online or send them to recycling centres.
“It is a concept of books going from the public to the public. Instead of throwing books away, people can donate them so someone else can enjoy them,” he says.
The collection mainly comprises fiction and general-interest non-fiction. Depending on the size of the books, the storage box can accommodate between 150 and 300 titles.
Solar panels power the box’s electrical system, which can support equipment such as a laptop or radio. The electric bicycle itself requires separate charging.
But the book bike’s longer-term purpose extends beyond busy public events.
The library hopes to begin taking the book bike to kampung communities in November, allowing it to support existing community reading kiosks and activities.
These include initiatives in Kampung Datuk Sulaiman Menteri, where a community-run reading kiosk operates with the involvement of an NGO called Happy Riders Connect.
The group teaches children to cycle safely and has worked with the library to organise reading activities.
Tengku Tarmizi sees the book bike as a way to bring these efforts together, combining access to books with activities that encourage people to gather and participate.
“We need to go to the people and promote our services. The library cannot just wait for the public to come to us. We need to reach people in outlying and underserved communities,” he says.
The library has long used a mobile service to extend its reach, previously operating a bus-based mobile library from 1970 until 2020. The book bike offers a different approach, one suited to smaller community activities and public gatherings.
For Tengku Tarmizi, the wider challenge is keeping libraries relevant in a changing reading landscape.
He believes libraries must also function as community spaces where people can meet, discuss ideas and take part in activities. Sometimes, all it takes is something different to get people turning pages.
Find out more about Sultan Ismail Library here.