Bookleggers Library

Since launching in 2012, Bookleggers has circulated over 80,000 free books in places as varied as the mouth of Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, the Miami Science Museum Planetarium during a laser light show, and Redland Market Village surrounded by a 15-piece mariachi band. Circulating free books in unexpected locations alongside multimedia programming, Bookleggers events have brought together approximately 53,971 in-person and 88,494 virtual attendees per year, transforming the idea of a library and forwarding the tradition of book mobility as a tool for informing, imagining, and building community.

We bill ourselves as a "no-kill shelter for books." Often Bookleggers is the last line of defense before a collection ends up destroyed. Whether from the personal library of your grandparents or your local museum, we save books from the dumpster every single day. 

Bookleggers Library is a collection of the community. Our donation-based library spans books from Miami residents as well as major South Florida institutions including The Miami Herald, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Miami Science Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, and more. By collecting and redistributing books, Bookleggers ensures that the institutional and private libraries of Miami stay in the community and avoid certain destruction.