Some of France’s public libraries are joining their patrons for a sea-side holiday, with pop-up branches in tents and huts near popular beaches.
Normandy’s ‘Read at the Beach’ program started in 2005 with three huts, and has now grown to more than a dozen. Each ‘branch’ is stocked with 1,000 books; last year over 38,000 readers used them.
Among the locations is Etretat, whose rugged cliffs were a favorite with 19th century painters, including Delacroix, Courbet, Monet, Boudin, Loiseau, Matisse and more. Here’s a view by Monet:
