BuchschrankFinder: Map of public bookcases now with major update

Since 2017, the BuchschrankFinder App and the map of public book exchange cabinets have been available here on Lesestunden.de. Back then, I merged data from various lists of public book exchange cabinets and made them accessible through an app. Each user can add, update, or remove entries directly within the app. More than 10,000 cabinets are now listed, and the app is widely used — a good reason to give everything an overhaul and add a long-requested feature.

A public book exchange cabinet is a freely accessible shelf or cabinet in a public space where people can exchange books anonymously and for free. In my opinion, it’s a brilliant concept — and we’ve set up one ourselves, which is very frequently visited. And when you’re out and about, it’s always a joy to stumble upon one of these little cabinets — even if I rarely find anything I want to take home.

Over the years, I’ve kept the app up to date and compatible with the latest versions. The same goes for the iOS version. There have also been a few small improvements — for example, the ability to start navigation directly from a cabinet’s detail view. The web-based map here on Lesestunden has also been running smoothly for years and continues to be actively used.

One of the most requested features was the ability to add photos to the cabinets. I’ve now implemented exactly that: up to three photos can be uploaded for each cabinet, so users know what to look for. This works both in the Android app and on the website. The feature will be coming to iOS soon as well.

I’ve also reimplemented the map here on Lesestunden.de. It’s now optimized for smartphones and much more user-friendly. Like the app, it allows searching by address or place name. So even without installing the app, you can easily access the same functionality via the website.

If you haven’t tried the app yet, you definitely should. It’s a great little thing — and let’s be honest, that pile of unread books is far too small anyway, so it can’t hurt to pick up another one or two from a book exchange cabinet.