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Little free libraries -

The Little Free Library movement has spread around the world, with tiny pop-up libraries appearing in towns and cities across the globe.

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Little free libraries - Books are usually stashed in bird boxes, and given to communities for some free reading. There are a reported 12,000 libraries around the world.

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Bibliothek im Bahnhof -

Luckenwalde is an unassuming city in east Germany, home to the avant-garde Bibliothek im Bahnhof. It's a towering, copper-covered wonder. The slanted building is home to 20,000 books, sat on its glass-fronted shelves. Take a walk through Luckenwalde and you won't miss it.

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Phone booth libraries - From a distance, it looks like just another phone box, but there are actually phone booth libraries located across the UK. More than 350, in fact.

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Phone booth libraries - In Marton and Grafton, the parish council bought a phone booth for £1 (about US$1.25) and turned it into a little local library.

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Weapon of Mass Instruction - Argentina's coup d'état saw disarray and military violence across the country. That history inspired artist Raul Lemesoff to create something positive out of something destructive.

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Weapon of Mass Instruction - Lemesoff crafted the Weapon of Mass Instruction, a Ford Falcon tank converted into a mobile library. Instead of bullets and shells, there are around 900 books carried by this moving library in Buenos Aires.

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Beachside libraries - Who doesn't love a read on the beach? There are beachside libraries located around the world, like in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Albena.

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Beachside libraries - The Black Sea Beach Library can house up to 2,500 books in 10 different languages. No cost, of course.

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Camel libraries - In countries like Kenya, traveling camel libraries are all the craze with budding readers.

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Camel libraries - The Kenya National Library Service sends out library caravans to nomadic communities around the country. The program reaches around 5,000 to 6,000 people.

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Vending books - Vending machines aren't just for soda and chips. In places like Beijing, machinated libraries are popping up.

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Vending books - A reported 32% of books borrowed in Beijing are taken from vending machines.

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The bookmobile - In San Francisco, a traveling biodiesel bookmobile is pleasing green-minded readers. It's actually something that stretches back to the early '90s.

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The bookmobile - The Green Bookmobile is powered by four solar panels and biodiesel. All you need is a San Francisco library card for access to the collection.

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Stony Island Arts Bank - Stony Island Arts Bank is a library like no other. With a storied history, the building in Chicago is a bank, an archive, a library, and a community center too.

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Stony Island Arts Bank - The building also hosts arts events, talks, workshops, and guided tours as well.

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Admont Abbey - Located in the Austrian town of Admont, the Admont Abbey is home to the world's biggest monastery library. It's a Baroque building from the 18th century, which hosts thousands of important works of literature.

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Admont Abbey - The light-filled library holds 70,000 volumes, while the abbey hosts 200,000 books.

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Baku airport library - The Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azerbaijan isn't your average airport. It comes complete with a wooden, cocoon-like library.

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Baku airport library - The library is a perfect place to kill time while waiting for a delayed flight. Other airports: take note!

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Liyuan Library -

Liyuan Library in Beijing is a small library built from nearly 50,000 firewood sticks. There's no electrical supply, and the place closes when the natural light disappears.

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Bus stop libraries -

In Jerusalem, there are a few bus stops that have been converted into libraries. They're a great way to keep people occupied while waiting for their bus, or while actually commuting.

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Mobile libraries -

Afghanistan has a few mobile libraries that breeze through cities like Kabul. Here are some young readers digging into a story on the library bus.

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A different kind of mobile library -

Over in Ukraine, there are mobile libraries that store digital books. Here's a woman using her phone to download one book from the collection.

See also: The world's most beautiful libraries.

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