The man who turned his home into a public library

Hernando Guanlao is a sprightly man in his early 60s, with one abiding passion — books.

They’re his pride and joy, which is just as well because, whether he likes it or not, they seem to be taking over his house.

Guanlao, known by his nickname Nanie, has set up an informal library outside his home in central Manila, to encourage his local community to share his joy of reading.

The idea is simple. Readers can take as many books as they want, for as long as they want — even permanently. As Guanlao says: The only rule is that there are no rules.

It’s a policy you might assume would end very quickly — with Mr Guanlao having no books at all.

But in fact, in the 12 years he’s been running his library — or, in his words, his book club — he’s found that his collection has grown rather than diminished, as more and more people donate to the cause — via redwolf.newsvine.com