Would you like a book with your coffee?

A new book-reading campaign which will have used books available for borrowing at coffee shops is in the works.

At the helm of the project is Nadia Mifsud Mutschler, a young Maltese woman who moved to France 12 years ago. She was inspired by a similar and successful campaign that took place in a small village in Lyon, where she lives.

People there left used books in letterbox-like stands in the community's main streets for fellow villagers to borrow freely and then return.

Ms Mifsud Mutschler first mentioned this French campaign during a brainstorming session on what could be done to encourage more reading in Malta, during Book Week last April.

The concept was well received and she was encouraged to start working on such a campaign for Malta. But instead of the letterbox-like stands, she opted for cafeterias.

"I thought coffee shops would be a more suitable place to exchange books; first of all because of vandalism and, secondly, coffee culture has become quite instilled among the Maltese," she said.

As to why people should donate their used books, Ms Mifsud Mutschler said: "We usually leave plenty of books sitting comfortably on shelves for years... it's better if they're made good use of."

She now needs at least three to four coffee shops with at least 15 books each to be able to start this "experiment" in Valletta. Once read, books could be returned to any cafeteria in the scheme, not necessarily the one where the book was borrowed from.

Since the first e-mail she sent out in May, about 60 books have been collected and the Inspirations café at St James Cavalier and Chiaroscuro in the capital city have agreed to take part in the campaign.

All along the way, she was supported by Sergio Grech, executive director of the National Book Council, and Adrian Grima, coordinator of Inizjamed, who gave Ms Mifsud Mutschler advice and many contacts which she needed as she left the island quite a long time ago. They also promoted her campaign through their respective websites, while cartoonist / illustrator Marisa Attard has prepared a poster.

Ms Mifsud Mutschler has literature at heart and feels the level of reading in Malta is still "poor". She did her MPhil in feminist literature in English literature in France and started her PhD on contemporary feminist literature in English literature. Meanwhile, her first book - a collection of poems in Maltese - is about to be published.

During a visit to Malta this summer, she also approached Carmen Fearne, Marsascala councillor on education and culture, who immediately fell in love with the campaign and is working to launch it in Marsascala too, where Ms Mifsud Mutschler was brought up.

So far, Ms Fearne has collected over 200 books and said "she has been promised more". Some coffee shop owners in the locality have shown an interest but they need shelves, which the council is going to provide.

Meanwhile, four ladies are meeting once every week to mend the books in need of repair. They are also gluing a note to each book saying "ħudni, aqrani u ġibni lura" meaning "take me, read me and return me".

"The Maltese don't read enough compared to other countries and many don't buy books because they find them expensive. This way we hope to encourage more reading," Ms Fearne said.

Anyone willing to donate books for the Marsascala area can drop off their books at the local council or else call the council, leave their address and someone in charge will pick up the books.

Those wishing to help the Valletta campaign may leave their books at the customer care department at the Public Library, Beltissebħ, addressed to Kampanja Ktieb Kafè, care of Sergio Grech.